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33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEbSTER.N.Y.  14580 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

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CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
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D 


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Couverture  endommagie 


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This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqud  ci-dessous. 

1QX  14X  18X  22V 


ORY 


3QX 


y 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


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whichever  applies. 


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symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


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method: 


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et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Las  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

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REPORT 

or 

THE  COMMISSIOJVEMS 

APPOINTED   BY 

JOI^T  RESOLUTIONS 

or    THE 

HONOURABLE  THE  SENATE  AND  ASSEMBLY 

OF   THE 

STATE  OF  J^EW.YORKt 

•F  THE  13th  and  15TII  OF  MARCH,   1810, 

TO  13XFL.OM13 
The  Route  of  an  Inland  Navigation, 

FROM 

MUBSOJ^'S  MIVEM 

TO 

JAKE  ONTABIO  AND  LAKE  ERIB. 


i 


J^TEW-YORK: 

PRINTED   TOR    PRIOR    AND   DUNltflfO, 
NO.    lU,   WATER-STREET.  I -• 

'Stuthwick  and  PelsuCf  Printct^, 


1811. 


REPORT,  ^c. 


S 


THE  Commissioners  appointed  by  joint  resolu- 
tions of  the  honourable  the  Senate  and  Assem- 
bly of  the  State  of  New- York,  of  the  I  Hth  and 
15th  March,  1810,  to  explore  the  route  of  an 
Inland  Navigation  from  Hudson's  river  to  Lake 
Ontario  and  Lake  Erie,  beg  leave  to 

MEFOMTs 

That  they  have  examined  the  country  as 
critically  as  time  and  circumstances  would  per- 
mit, and  caused  sur'veys  to  be  made  for  their  better 
information.  They  beg  leave  to  observe  on  the 
present  navigation  by  the  Mohawk  river,  Wood 
Creek,  Oneida  Lake,  and  the  Oswego  river,  which 
extends  from  Schenectady  to  Lake  Ontario,  sav- 
ing only  a  portage  at  the  falls  within  twelve  miles 
of  Oswego,  that  experience  has  long  since  ex- 
ploded in  Europe,  the  idea  of  using  the  beds  of 
rivers  for  internal  navigation,  where  canals  are 
practicable.  The  reasoning  on  that  subject  ap- 
plies with  greater  force  in  America ;  for  in  the 
navigation  of  rivers,  reliance  must  be  had  prin- 


cipally  on  the  labour  of  men,  whereas  along 
canals,  the  force  employed  is  generally  that  of 
horses ;  but  the  labour  of  men  is  dearer,  and  the 
•ubsistence  of  horses  cheaper  in  America  than  in 
Europe.  Experience,  moreover,  has,  in  thig 
country,  declared  against  following  the  course  of 
rivers,  more  decidedly  than  in  the  old  world ;  for 
there,  notwithstanding  the  excellence  of  the  high- 
ways, transportation  is  performed,  betweenHouen 
and  Paris,  for  instance,  in  boats  drawn  up  the 
river ;  but  along  the  Mohawk,  though  the  road 
from  Schenectady  to  Utica  is  far  from  being  good, 
it  is  frequently  preferred  to  the  river.  By  the 
aid  of  canals,  a  good  navigation,  for  boats,  can 
unquestionably  be  made,  from  Schenectady  to  the 
falls  in  the  Oswego  river,  twelve  miles  south  of 
Luke  Ontario.  From  Schenectady  to  the  Hudson, 
and  from  the  falls  just  mentioned  to  the  Lake 
Ontario,  a  boat  navigation  is  also  practicable ;  but 
whether  it  be  adviseable,  may  deserve  considera- 
tion. 

A  preliminary  point  to  decide,  is,  whether  by 
this  route,  vessels  can  be  taken  across  of  size  and 
form  to  navigate  with  advantage  Lake  Ontario 
and  Hudson's  river  j  such,  for  instance,  as  sloops 
and  schooners  of  fifty  or  sixty  tons.  The  Com- 
missioners believe  this  to  be  impracticable,  from 
the  want  of  water  at  the  summit  level ;  whether 
a  sufficient  supply,  even  for  boats,  can  be  obtained 
in  a  dry  season,  should  the  whole  trade  of  the 
great  Lakes  be  turned  that  way,  is  a  matter  wor- 


6 


\ 
J 


thy  of  consideration.    Admitting,  however,  that 
the  boat  navigation  were  completed  to  the  falls 
in  Oswego  river,  and  a  sufficient  supply  of  water 
•ecured,  it  remains  to  inquire,  whether  it  would  be 
prudent  to  expend  what  may  be  needful  on  the 
navigation  between  those  tails  and  th(^  Lake.    It 
■will  be  seen  by  the  report  of  the  Surveyor,  here- 
unto annexed,  that  in  this  distance  there  is  a 
descent  of  little  less  than  one  hundred  feet,  and 
that  the  circumstances  are  peculiarly  unfavoura- 
ble ;  so  much  so,  that  an  intelligent  practical  man 
(Mr.  Weston)  formerly  pronounced  it  impossible. 
That  word,  however,  when  used  on  occasions  of 
this  sort,  must  be  understood  as  standing  in  rela- 
tion to  the  means  which  can  prudently  be  applied 
to  the  end.    In  examining  the  amount  of  ex- 
penditure  which  prudence  may  justify,  it  is  to  be 
noted,  that  if  the  same  boat  which  arrives  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  Falls,  could,  after  reaching  Os- 
wego,  proceed  on  her  voyage,  it  might  be  worth 
while  to  calculate,  whether  the  saving  of  time  and 
expense  in  lading  and  unlading,  would  bear  any 
rational  proportion  to  the  cost  of  completing  that 
navigation ;  but  that  is  not  the  case,  and  there- 
fore it  would  be  more  adviseable,  if  the  commu- 
nication be  deemed  of  sufficient  importance,  to 
construct  a  railway.     This,  according  to  the 
estimate  of  an  intelligent  and  experienced  man 
(Mr.  Latrobe)  annexed  to  Mr.  Secretary  Gallatin*^ 
report  on  canals  and  roads,  would  cost  about  ten 
thousand  dollars  per  mile ;  and  by  the  aid  of  it, 


6 

one  horse  could  transport  eight  tons,  supposing 
the  angle  of  ascont  not  to  exceed  one  degree. 
13ut  an  angle  of  one  de^^ree  will  ascend  in  a  mile 
upwards  of  ninety-two  feet,  or  nearly  as  much  as 
the  difference  of  level  in  the  whole  twelve  miles; 
if  then,  two  dollars  be  allowed  for  a  horse,  wag- 
gon, and  driver's  wages,    vviih  such  return  load 
as  he  can  procure  for  his  proiit,  and  ten  cents  be 
allowed  for  the  use  of  the  railway,  and  if  it  be 
supposed  that  only  live  tons  be  taken  instead  of 
eight,  the  cost  will  be  for  each  ton  the  twelve 
miles,  forty-two  cents,  or  three  and  a  half  cents 
per  mile ;  at  which  rate,  one  hundred  and  forty 
miles,  a  greater  distance  than  between  Oswego 
and  Lewistown,  along  Lake  Ontario,  would  come 
to  four  dollars  and  ninety  cents,  being  thirty-five 
cents  less  than  the  freight  now  paid. 

A  question,  however,  of  more  importance  pre- 
sents itself.    Admitting  that  it  were  easy  to  com- 
plete a  boat  navigation  from  Borne   to  Lake 
Ontario,  and  more  difficult  and  expensive,   in 
comparison,  to  effect  a  canal  navigation  to  Lake 
Erie,  would  it  not  be  adviseable  to  descend  into 
Lake  Ontario,  rather  than  encounter  the  difficulty 
and  expense  of  the  other  course  ?    The  Commis- 
sioners believe  it  would  not,  and  without  relying, 
as  they  might,   for  support  of  their  opinion,  on 
the  comparative  expense  of   transportation,   a 
topic  which  will  find  a  better  place  elsewhere,  it 
is  sufficient  to  say  here,  that  articles  for  exporta- 
tion, when  once  afloat  on  Lake  Ontario,  will, 


mm^ 


generally  speaking,  go  to  Montreal,  unless  our 
British  neighbours  are  blind  to  their  own  interest, 
a  charge  which  ought  not  lightly  to  be  made 
againt  a  commercial  nation.  Freight  from  Nia- 
gara to  Oswego,  will,  from  the  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous access  to  that  harbour,  be  as  high  as  to  the 
head  of  the  rapids  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  The 
descent  from  thence  to  Montreal  is  less  than  the 
ascent  from  Oswego  to  Rome.  It  is  true  that  the 
Lake  Ontario  is  e>timated  at  one  hundred  and 
ninety-six  feet  above  tide  water,  and  the  Rome 
level  only  one  hundred  and  eighty  four  feet  above 
the  Luke,  but  there  is  a  considerable  descent  in 
the  river  St.  Lawrence,  in  a  distance  of  about 
seventy  miles  to  the  lower  end  of  the  present  sloop 
navigation,  through  which  the  current  is  some- 
times strong.  There  is  also  a  considerable  descent 
from  Montreal,  in  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles 
to  tide  water,  in  the  Lake  St.  Peters.  Perhaps  it 
will  be  found  that  an  average  allowance  of  three 
inches  per  mile,  in  the  whole  upwards  of  twenty 
feet,  is  not  too  much,  and  that  the  river  at  Mon- 
treal iiii  not  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  below 
the  upper  surface  of  the  Gallots'  Rapids.  In  the 
distance  of  one  hundred  miles  between  these 
places,  there  are  forty  of  still  v^ater,  viz.  about 
thirty  in  Lake  St.  F^^ancis,  between  the  foot  of 
Long  Saut  and  the  head  of  the  Coteau  du  Lac 
raf/id,  and  upwards  of  ten  in  the  Lake  of  the  Two 
Mountain*?,  between  the  foot  of  the  cascade  at 
the  cedars,  and  the  La  Chine  rapid.     Thus  there 


/4 


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will  remain  but  sixty  mileg  of  canal,  vf'ith  aa 
average  fall  of  thirty  four  inches  per  mile.  The 
land  descends  proportionately  to  the  water,  so 
that  there  can  be  but  little  deep  cutting ;  the  soil 
is  easy  to  dig ;  there  are  no  streams  or  ravines  •£ 
any  consequence  to  cross ;  and  there  is  an  inex- 
haustible supply  of  pure  water,  which  never  varies 
much  in  its  height,  for  any  canal  whatever. 

Under  circumstances  so  propitious,  it  is  probabla 
that  a  good  sloop  navigation  from  above  the  Gal- 
lots  to  Montreal,  would  cost  less  than  a  good  boat 
navigation  from  Oswego  to  Kome.  The  extent  of 
this  last,  deducting  the  Oneida  Lake,  is  fifty-six 
miles ;  the  Fall  is  on  an  average  near  forty  inches 
per  mile ;  the  supply  of  water  is  doubtful ;  and 
in  twelve  miles  of  the  distance,  obstacles  almost 
insurmountable  present  themselves. 

These  are  facts,  to  which  it  v^ould  be  in  vain 
for  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  shut  their 
eyes.  The  eyes  of  a  rich)  enterprising,  commer- 
cial rival  are  open :  and  when  it  is  considered 
that  (if  the  means  of  easy  export  be  supplied  to 
the  inhabitants  who  may  settle  near  the  great 
lakes)  that  the  country  will,  in  no  distant  period, 
furnish  a  more  abundant  stock  of  commodities 
for  foreign  trade,  than  is  now  sent  from  all  the 
Atlantic  ports  of  the  union*  It  would  be  absurd 
to  doubt  whether  in  the  competi^bn  for  that  com- 
merce, our  neighbours  will  employ  the  means  in 
their  power.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  tht 
revenue,  which,  under  present  circumstances  is 


1 


-«S39a 


amm 


raised  from  commerce,  and  which  no  probable 
change  will  reduce  below  an  advalorem  duty  of 
ten  per  cent,  cannot  but  operate  in  favor  of  our 
rivals.  True  it  i»,  that  as  far  as  regards  the 
pecuniary  benefit  of  those  who  may  settle  along 
the  Lakes,  the  route  by  which  their  products  are 
sent  abroad,  and  their  supplies  of  foreign  articleg 
introduced,  must  be  to  them  a  matter  of  little 
consequence.  But  the  political  connexion,  which 
would  probably  result  from  a  commercial  con* 
nexion,  certainly  deserves  the  consideration  of 
intelligent  men. 

.  The  Commissioners  have  no  doubt  that  the  ob- 
structions at  the  head  of  Oneida  Lake  may  be 
removed,  so  as  to  lower  the  surfa.?e  ot  that  Lake, 
from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet,  at  no  great  ex- 
pense, and  with  little,  if  any  injury  to  the  navi- 
gation ;  but  they  have  not  been  able  to  sati>fy 
themselves,  that  the  lands  contemplated  in  the 
petitions,  which  the  joint  resolutions  refer  to, 
would  be  in  any  wise  affected  by  operations  at 
the  mouth  of  Oneida  Lake.  According  to  the 
information  they  have  obtained,  these  lands  are 
inundated  by  the  waters  of  Butternut,  Limestone, 
Chitinengo,  and  Canaseraga  creeks,  obstructed 
before  their  entrance  into  the  Lake. 

In  respect  to  an  Inland  Navigation  direct  from 
Lake  Erie  to  Hudson's  river,  the  Commissioners 
beg  leave  to  refer  for  information,  to  the  annexed 
reports  and  maps  of  Mr  James  Geddes,  employed 
at  their  request  by  the  Surveyor  General.   From 

[21 


71 


10 

these  it  is  evident,  that  such  navigation  is  practi- 
cable. Whether  the  route  he  sketched  out  will 
hereai'ter  be  pursued,  whether  a  better  may  not 
be  found,  and  other  questions  subordinate  to 
these,  can  only  be  resolved  at  a  future  time,  when 
an  intelligent  man,  regularly  bred  to  this  business, 
shall,  under  the  direction  of  those  on  whom  the 
public  may  think  proper  to  devolve  the  superin- 
ten^iance,  have  made  a  more  t::tensive  and  care- 
ful hcrutiuy,  than  the  time  and  means  of  the 
Commissioners  would  permit.  They  conceive, 
however,  that  it  may  not  be  improper  to  say  a 
few  words  on  the  topography  of  the  country, 
which  may  be  divided  into  three  parts,  nearly 
equal. 

The  Mohawk  river,  as  is  well  known,  runs  in 
a  deep  ravine,  and  there  is,  generally  speaking, 
along  its  bantrs,  a  vale  of  rich  soil.  lu  different 
places,  however,  spurs  from  the  neighbouring 
hills  project  themselves  to  the  edge  of  the  river. 
On  the  north  side  fall  in,  sundry  small  streams, 
and  two,  the  east  and  west  Canada  creeks,  which 
are  large  and  copious,  especially  the  latter.  They 
are  both  rapid,  and  run  in  deep  ravines.  On  the 
right  side,  also,  there  are  several  tributary  streams. 
The  most  considerable  of  these  is  the  Schoharie, 
which,  rinsing  among  the  Oatskiil  Mountains,  has 
scooped  out  with  its  impetuous  waters,  a  wide  and 
deep  ravine. 

Tiic  stream  next  in  importance,  comine  m  from 
the  ^uuth,  is  the  Oriskany,  which  is  essentially 


11 

valuable,  because  it  enters  the  river  not  far  from 
the  summit  level  at  Rome,  and  may  perhaps  be- 
come useful  as  a  feeder.  This  forms  the  iirst 
eastern,  or  river  division,  in  which,  navigation, 
though  defective,  already  exists. 

In  this  division,  with  proper  management,  there 
will  be  no  defect  of  water  for  a  boat  canal,  unless, 
perhaps,  in  very  dry  seasons,  at  the  summit  level. 

The  second,  middle,  or  Lake  division,  extends 
from  the  summit  level,  westward,  to  the  outlet  uf 
the  Canadarque  Lake.  In  it  lie  four  Lakes ;  the 
Otisco,  Skeneateles,  Owasco,  and  Canadarque, 
higher  than  any  canal  which  may  be  extenUt  d 
from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Hudson,  and  furnishing  a 
copious  supply  of  water.  Of  the  two  largest 
Lakes,  the  Seneca,  increased  by  a  stream  from 
Crooked  Lake,  lies  nearly  on  the  same  leve!  wiih 
Rome,  but  the  Cayuga  much  lower. 

In  this  division,  the  turnpike  road  crosses  high 
hills,  but  they  all  terminate  not  far  north  ot  it, 
leaving  a  large  deep  valley,  upwards  of  eighty 
miles  long,  from  east  to  west,  and  about  twenty 
wide,  from  northwest  to  southeast.  If,  indeed, 
the  Cayuga  Lake,  embosomed  in  a  ravine  which 
opens  to  the  north  on  the  valley,  be  considered  as 
part  of  it,  the  breadth  will  be  lifty  miles.  In  this 
valley  lie  the  Onandaga,  Cross,  and  Oneida  Lakes. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  a  dividing  riiig.-  of 
land,  which  stretches  from  near  the  Gerundegut 
bay  eastwardly,  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Rome, 
where  it  joins  the  dividing  ridge,  north  of  the 


/I 
/! 


I 


w\ 


12 

Mohawk,  between  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  those  of  the  Hudson. 

The  third,  western,  or  dry  division,  extends 
from  the  western  boundary  of  the  lake  division 
to  Lake  Erie.  In  this,  although  the  Genesee 
river  runs  through  it,  a  want  of  water  is  already 
felt,  and  will  daily  become  more  sensible,  as  the 
country  is  cleared  The  Genesee  river  itself  is 
a  torrent,  which,  however  copious,  or  even  super- 
abundant it  may  be  in  the  spring,  is,  in  the 
autumn,  almost  dry.  This  tract  of  country,  es- 
pecially after  passing  the  flats  of  the  Genesee, 
may,  with  little  violence  to  the  propriety  of  lan- 
guage, be  called  a  plain.  And  here  it  may  be 
proper  to  notice,  a  peculiarity  in  the  shape  of  the 
northern,  and  much  of  the  western  part  of  the 
state,  which  distinguishes  it  widely  from  the 
country  lying  southeast  of  the  mountains.  The 
descent  from  the  dividing  ridge,  northward,  is 
generally  by  a  gradation  of  plains,*  nearly  hori- 
zontal. These,  and  the  streams  by  which  they 
are  watered,  have  a  similar,  and,  as  it  were,  a 
simultaneous  descent.  Thus  the  rivers  are  but  a 
kind  of  lakes,  lying  in  plains,  and  communicating 
by  falls  and  rapids,  with  each  other.  These 
gradations  have  sometimes  a  small  rise,  immedi- 


*  A''ote.  The  word  plains  mig-ht  lead  into  error.  It  is 
therefore  proper  to  state,  that  hills  are  scattered  about, 
which  v.iry  the  surfuce  to  the  eye,  but  on  examination  it 
will  be  found,  thut,  generally  speaking,  their  bases  are  all 
On  the  same  extended  plain. 


"■■  '"JlJMiiyiMiWiEiatffliiJ 


13 

ately  before  the  descent ;  at  other  times,  in  as- 
cending from  one,  we  come  immediately  to  the 
other.  In  no  case  is  the  peculiarity  of  shape 
more  worthy  of  remark,  than  at  the  Cataract  of 
Niagara.  In  coming  from  Lake  Erie,  where  the 
signt  cannot  reach  over  the  expanded  surface, 
proceeding  along  the  level  bank  of  the  Niagara 
river,  to  the  head  of  the  rapids  immediately  above 
the  falls,  and  thence  pursuing  a  northern  course, 
the  traveller  ascends  but  thirty  eight  feet,  before 
he  descends  three  hundred  and  forty  five,  to  the 
plain  in  which  Lake  Ontario  is  stretched  out,  from 
easi  to  west,  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
miles,  r  he  surface  of  Lake  Erie  is  three  hundred 
and  twenty  nine  feet  above  that  of  Lake  Ontario, 
which  being  taken  from  the  whole  de.cent,  just 
mentioned,  leaves  for  the  rise  of  land  between 
those  two  great  reservoirs,  but  sixteen  feet.  This 
rise,  and  others  similar  to  it,  are  called  by  the 
inhabitants,  the  ridge,  the  ledge,  the  slope,  and 
the  hill.  A  more  proper  general  appellation,  per- 
haps, is  the  steep,  though  occasionally,  by  the 
elevation  each  way,  it  becomes  truly  a  ridge,  or 
from  the  horizontal  strata  of  stone,  as  truly  a 
ledge.  In  some  places  the  descent  is  by  a  gentle 
slope,  in  others  more  precipitous,  and  in  some, 
almost  perpendicular.  Two  of  these  extend  east- 
ward, from  the  shore  of  Niagara  river,  nearly 
parallel  to  and  distant  from  each  other,  about 
fourteen  miles.  The  higher  or  southern  steep 
commences  at  Black  Rock,  where  the  river  issues 


/ 


/ 


14 


M'* 


1- 


from  Lake  Erie.  The  northern  commences  at 
the  Falls,  and  after  an  eastern  course  of  fifty  or 
sixty  miles,  bends  towards  and  approaches  the 
southern,  after  which  they  both  take  a  southern 
direction  for  thirty  miles,  but  return  again  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Genesee  ;  or  to  speak  more  cor- 
rectly, that  river,  after  breaking  through  them 
by  successive  falls  of  sixty  and  ninety  feet,  thirty 
miles  south  of  the  high  road  in  the  township  of 
Avon,*  runs  in  a  ravine  to  the  northern  part 
of  that  township;  when  the  steeps  again  diverge, 
Ihe  southern  stretching  eastwardly  to  the  west 
side  of  the  Seneca  Lake,  and  then  southerly  to 
the  high  grounds,  from  whence  flow  the  waters 
of  the  Tioga;  while  th<  other  keeps  an  eastern 
direction  to  the  hills,  from  whose  southern  decliv- 
ities flow  the  Chenango  and  Unadilla.  There  is 
another  steep  still  more  north,  which  branches 
out  from  that  last  mentioned,  near  the  eighteen 
mile  run  (a  stream  whose  mouth  is  at  that  distance 
from  that  of  the  Niagara  river)  and  diverging 
northward,  is  for  some  distance  in  its  eastern  pro- 
gress, indistinct;  it  extends,  however,  to  the  lower 
falls  of  the  Genesee,  and  is  there  crossed  by  that 
river,  as  also  beyond  it  by  streams  which  fall  into 
the  Gerundegut  Bay,  after  which  it  becomes 
properly  a  ridge,  and  extends  beyond  the  falls 
of  Oswego  River,  as  has  been  already  mentioned. 


*  Formerly  Hartford. 


i. 


\^ 


15 

Of  these  three  steeps,  ledges,  or  ridges  the  most 
southern  is  distinguished  by  limestone  mixed  with 
flint,  the  middle  by  the  same  stone  mixed  with 
shells,  and  the  most  northern  by  freestone  and 
slate.  Over  the  southern  steep,  west  of  the  Ge- 
nesee River,  falls  EUicot's  brook  and  the  Tone- 
wanta,  which  enter  Niagara  River  by  the  same 
mouth,  opposite  to  Grand  Island,  also  Allen'g 
brook,  which  makes  at  its  passage  the  Butter- 
milk falls,  and  runs  to  the  Genesee.  Over  the 
middle  steep,  in  the  same  division,  falls  the  Oak- 
Orchard  brook,  which  enters  Lake  Ontario  about 
thirty  miles  east  of  Niagara  river.  The  lowef 
falls  of  this  brook,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Ge* 
nesee,  are  over  the  northern  steep. 

The  Canesus,  the  Hemlock,  the  Honeyoyo, 
the  Canadarque,  and  the  Crooked  Lakes,  lie  south 
of  the  southern  steep.  The  Seneca,  the  Owasco, 
the  Skeneateles  and  Otisco  Lakes,  lie  south  of  the 
Middle  Steep ;  north  of  which  lie  the  Cayuga, 
Onondaga,  Oneida  and  Cross  Lakes. 

The  Tonewanta  falls  over  the  southern  steep 
twenty-five  feet,  and  passing  the  village  of  the 
same  name,  runs  in  a  level  valley,  of  brown  clay, 
upwards  of  twenty  miles,  to  its  mouth  in  Niagara 
river.  From  the  Tonewanta  Village,  northeast- 
ward,  in  less  than  five  miles,  chiefiy  through  a 
swamp,  the  Oak  Orchard  brook  receJ  '^j  the  waters 
of  the  swamp,  and  falls,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned,  into  Lake  Ontario,  The  Tonewanta 
brook,  three  feet  higher  than  the  swamp,  is  sepa- 


(51 


niiH 


Mt 


1  !  * 


'f 


I! 


16 

rated  from  it  by  ground  whose  elevation  is  not 
more  than  live  feet,  the  distance  is  short  of  a  mile, 
and  the  soil  being  clay,  it  will  be  easy,  by  turning 
its  waters  into  Oak  Orchard  brook)  to  convert  the 
Tonewanta  from  its  mouth  upwards  into  a  canal. 
It  has  above  eleven  miles  from  its  mouth  a  depth 
of  twelve  feet,  interrupted,  nevertheless,  by  live 
bars  or  shallows,  composed  of  round  stones  bu- 
ried  in  clay.  During  this  space,  the  breadth  ig 
generally  forty  yards,  though  in  the  narrowest  not 
more  than  thirty.  The  first  shallow,  about  three 
miles  from  the  mouth,  is  called  Miller's  ford, 
and  is  not  above  twelve  yards  wide  ;  the  next, 
about  a  mile  beyond  it,  called  House's  shallow, 
extends  east  and  west  nearly  one  hundred  and 
twenty  yards,  the  depth  of  water  from  two  and 
a  half  to  three  feet.  Two  miles  further  up  is 
Christman's  rapid,  this  extends  east  and  west 
near  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  with  a  depth 
of  from  fil  teen  to  eighteen  inches.  At  this  rapid 
the  fall  is  three  inches,  except  when  a  westerly 
wind  brings  up  the  water  of  Lake  Erie.  The 
breadth  ot   the  Tonewanta  is  here   forty-eight 

yards,  and  no  where  below  it  less  than  forty. 

The  next  bar,  about  u  mile  from  thi  last,  ib  cal- 
led Van  Slyke's  shallow,  it  extends  forty  two 
yards,  the   depth  in  the  shoalest  place,  twenty 

inches,  but  in  general  from  two  to  three  feet. 

The  fifth  anu  last  bar,  at  eleven  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  creek,  extend.^  near  one  hundred 
and  eighty  yards,  and  has  from  one  to  two  and 
a  half  feet  of  water. 


17 


To  convert  this  water  course  into  a  canal  twelve 
feet  deep,  during  the  whole  distance  of  eleven 
miles,  will  require,  at  most,  an  excavation  of 
eighty  thousand  cubic  yards.  The  surface  here 
is  four  inches  higher  than  at  the  mouth,  which  is 
five  feet  lower  than  the  surface  of  Lake  Erie. — 
At  about  five  miles  and  a  quarter  north  from  this 
place,  in  the  middle  steep,  is  the  source  of  one 
branch  of  the  eighteen  mile  brook,  at  a  distance 
of  about  ten  miles  from  Lake  Ontario,  and  about 
three  hundred  feet  above  its  surface ;  conse- 
quently near  thirty  feet  below  the  surface  of  Lake 
Erie.  The  greatest  elevation  of  ground  is  twen- 
ty-one feet  above  that  surface  ;  it  is,  however,  on 
an  average,  for  the  space  of  three  miles,  twenty 
feet,  and  the  remaining  two  miles  and  a  quarter, 
about  seven  feet.  For  a  more  particular  know- 
ledge of  the  ground,  reference  must  be  had  to 
the  profile  made  by  Mr.  Geddes,  and  which  is 
hereto  annexed.  It  is  self-evident,  that  the  cost 
of  excavation  per  cubic  yard,  must  depend  on 
the  substance  in  which  the  excavation  is  made ; 
it  must  depend  also  on  some  other  circumstances. 
In  deep  cutting  for  instance,  not  only  must  there 
be  wide  cutting,  to  prevent  the  earth  from  falling 
in,  but  there  will,  generally  speaking,  be  more 
labor,  and  consequently  more  expence  in  moving 
the  earth  after  it  is  dug.  It  may  become,  there- 
fore, in  many  cases,  more  adviseable  to  pierce  the 
earth  by  a  tuiinel,  than  to  take  down  the  top  of  sl 
hill.  In  the  present  instance,  by  means  of  wooden 

[3] 


iMii 


rail  ways,  which  may  be  constructed  from  the 
surrounding  forests  for  a  temporary  purpose  at 
trifling  expense,  the  materials,  whi-n  dug,  may 
be  made  as  it  were  to  transport  themselves  along 
gentle  declivities,  to  fill  that  part  of  the  ravine 
through  which  the  canil  is  to  pass. 

In  the  construction  of  canals,  when  recourse 
is  had,  as  must  generally  be  the  case,  to  rivers 
for  a  supply  of  water,  it  is  found  necessary  to 
guard  with  scrupulous  care,  and  not  unfrequently 
at  enormous  expense,  against  those  floods,  which 
pouring  a  torrent  into  a  canal  and  tearing  down 
its  banks,  might  at  once  destroy  the  navigation 
and  inundate  the  country.    Moreover,  it  is  found 
that  canals,  depending  on  rivers,  frequently  like 
the  rivers  themselves,  want  water  in  the  season 
when  it  is  most  necessary.  Indeed  to  suppose  the 
quantity  of  water  in  a  river,  when  turned  into  a 
canal  will  remain  the  same,  would  lead  to  seri- 
ous disappointment ;  much  must  be  allowed  for 
evaporation,  and  notwithstanding  the  utmost  care, 
more  will  filter  through  the  sides  and  bottom  of 
a  canal  than  those  of  a  river,  which  are  generally 
saturated. 

Thus  then  two  prominent  evils  present  them- 
selves in  feeding  from  rivers,  viz.  in  spring  they 
pour  in  tgo  much  water,  and  can  aflford  none  in 
autumn  when  it  is  most  wanted.  There  is  still 
another  evil,  which  though  not  so  imminent,  be- 
comes eventually  of  serious  moment.  When  the 
country  shall  be  cultivated,  streams  swollen  by 


% 


mmimi 


showers,  will  bring  down  mixed  with  their  wa- 
ters,   a  proportion  of  mud,  and  that,  in  the  still- 
ness of  a  level  canal,  w  ill  subside  and  choak  it  up. 
It  is  also  to  be  noied,  by  those  who  shall  construct 
canals  in  this  country,  that  the  true  character  of 
a  river  cannot  now  be  known.     Large  tracts,  for 
instance  west  of  the  Genesee,    which  appear  as 
swamps,  and  through  which  causeways  of  logs 
are  laid  for  roads,  will  become  dry  fields,  when 
no  longer  shaded,  as  at  present,  by  forests  imper- 
vious to  the  sun      In  the  progress  of  industry, 
swamps,   the   present    reservoirs  of    permanent 
springs,   that  burst  out  on  a  lower  surface,  will 
be  drained,  whereby  many  of  those  springs  will 
be  dried.     Of  such  as  remain,  a  part  will  be  used 
to  irrigate  inclined  plains.     Moreover,  in  every 
place  tolerably  convenient,  ponds  will  be  collected 
for  mills  and  other  machinery,  from  whose  sur- 
face, as  well  as  from  that  of  the  soil,  the  sun  will 
•xhale  an  ample  tribute  of  vapour. 

Thus  the  summer  supply  of  rivers  will  be  in 
part  destroyed,  and  in  part  consumed,  whereby 
their  present  autumnal  penury  must  be  impover- 
ished ;  but  in  the  spring,  the  careful  husbandman 
and  miller  will  open  every  ditch  and  sluice,  to  get 
rid  of  that  water,  which,  though  at  other  times  a 
kind  friend  and  faithful  servant,  is  then  a  danger- 
ous enemy  and  imperious  master.  Of  course, 
much  of  what  is  now  withheld  for  many  days, 
will  then  be  suddenly  poured  out.  The  torrents 
must,  therefore,  rage  with  greater  fury  hereafter, 
than  they  do  in  the  present  day. 


20 


Considerations  like  these,  while  they  cast  a 
bliade  over  many  contemplated  enterprizes,  give, 
by  contrast,  a  glowing  hue  to  that  which  we  have 
now  to  consider.  The  canal  from  Lake  Erie  to 
the  Hudson,  may  be  fed  by  pure  water  from 
lakes,  provided  mounds  and  aqueducts  be  made 
over  intervening  vallies,  or  the  canal  be  carried 
round  them.  In  every  case,  the  attending  cir- 
cumstances must  decide.  In  general,  also,  it  is 
only  after  a  more  accurate  examination  of  the 
ground,  by  a  skilful  engineer,  well  practised  in 
such  business,  that  the  best  mode  can  be  adopted, 
for  the  species  of  navigation  which  may  be  ulti- 
mately  determined  on,  viz.  whether  for  vessels 
which  navigate  Hudson's  river  and  Lake  Erie,  or 
for  barges  of  from  twenty  to  sixty  tons.  If  the 
passage  were  only  of  a  few  miles,  the  propriety  of 
bringing  vessels  of  eight  feet  draught  of  water 
across,  if  practicable,  would  be  readily  admit- 
ted ;  but  it  may  well  be  questioned,  whether  to 
save  the  expense  of  lading  and  unlading  at  each 
end  of  a  canal  three  hundred  miles  long,  the  ex- 
pense of  cutting  two  yards  deeper  than  would 
otherwise  be  necessary,  ought  to  be  encountered. 

It  has  generally  been  assumed,  and  perhaps  too 
lightly  admitted,  that  canals  should  be  made  on 
a  perfect  level.  This  axiom  would  not  be  ques- 
tioned, if  the  transportation  each  way  were  of 
equal  burden,  if  the  distance  or  the  frequency  of 
good  feeding  streams  were  such  as  easily  and 
constantly  to  supply,  without  danger  of  excess, 


21 


the  incessant  waste  of  water  by  absorption,  leak- 
age, and  evaporntion,  and  if  the  waters  to  be 
connected  were  on  the  same  level ;  but  in  a  case 
like  the  present,  rational  doubts  may  be  entertain- 
ed.    The  dift'erence  of  level  being  upwards  of 
five  hundred  feet,  all  the  descent  which  can  pru- 
dently  be  obtained  by  an  inclined  plane,  is  so 
much  saved  in  the  expense  of  lockage ;  and  in 
all  human  probability,  the  transportation  for  cen- 
turies to  come,  will  be  of  so  much  greater  bur- 
den from  the  interior  country  than  back  from 
the  sea,  that  a  current  from  the  lake  is  more  to 
be  desired  than   avoided,  more  especially  as  it 
■will,  in  some  degree,  counteract  the  effect  of  frost. 
That  inexhaustible  stream  of  limpid  water  which 
flows  out  of  Lake  Erie,  with  little  variation  of 
height  to  endanger  the  canal,  is  a  strong  tempta- 
tion to  use  it  exclusively,  until  auxiliary  supplies 
can  be  drawn  from  other  reservoirs  equally  pure. 
Nor  is  it  improper  in  this  case  to  remark,  that  it 
is  impossible  there  should  ever  be  a  considerable 
variation  in  the  surface  of  Niagara  River,  at  the 
mouth  of  Tonewanto.    No  supposable  fall  of 
rain  or  meUing  of  snow,  even  if  both  were  to  take 
place  at  the  same  time,  in  the  country  which  sur- 
rounds the  great  lakes,  could  raise,  in  any  consi- 
derable degree,  their  extended  surface.     Indeed, 
we  know  from  experience,  that  a  greater  differ- 
ence of  elevation  at  the  mouth  of  Lake  Erie,  is 
occasioned  by  a  change  of  wind,  than  by  any  va- 
riation of  seasons.    Admitting,  however,  a  consi- 


m] 


I 

m 


i 


11 


v^ 


* 


.^1 


it 

derable  rise  of  water,  no  matter  from  what  cause, 
at  the  source  of  Niagara  river,  it  cannot  suddenly, 
from  the  narrowness  and  shoalness  of  the  channel, 
produce  a  correspondent  rise  at  the  foot  of  the 
Black  Rock  rapid ;  and  the  elevation  there  must, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  exceed  that  which  is  occa- 
sioned  by  it  fifteen  miles  lower  down ;  especially 
as  the  river,  including  the  two  channels  round 
Grand  island,  has,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way, 
nearly  three  times  the  breadth  which  it  has  above. 
If,  however,  it  were  only  a  deep  bay,  the  water 
pressed  forward  by  the  wind,  would  be  piled  up 
to  a  considerable  height :  but,  instead  of  that,  the 
river  here,  with  a  breadth  fully  double  to  what  it 
has  at  Black  Rock,  precipitates  itself  over  the  first 
ledge,  in  its  headlong  course  to  the  cataract,  so 
that  an  increase  of  height  is  instantly  counteract- 
ed by  the  increased  rapidity  with  which  it  rolls 
over  the  rock. 

In  all  events,  it  would  be  advisable  to  use  this 
water  exclusively  for  a  great  part  of  the  way, 
even  if  the  country  afforded  other  resources ;  and 
to  this  effect  there  must  be  some  descent  in  th« 

canal. 

What  the  precise  amount  of  that  descent  should 
be  in  every  mile,  the  commissioners  presume  not 
to  say.  They  dc  not  pretend  to  sufficient  know- 
ledge on  the  subjtcf  tind  with  all  proper  defer- 
ence, they  refer  v.  Iv  a  practical  engineer. 

Nevertheless,  hko  other  men  possessed  of  com- 
mon discernment,  they  perceive  not  only  that  tim 


^^ 


S3 

(juantity  of  water  which  runs  in  a  given  time, 
must  be  proportionate  to  the  rapidity  with  which, 
and  the  aperture  through  which  it  pas  jes,  but  also 
that  the  rapidity  itself  will  depend, not  mtrely  on 
the  declivity,  but  also  on  the  mass,  oecause,  in  a 
deep  and  wide  channel,  the  friction  must  be  less 
than  in  one  ^hat  is  narrow  and  shoal.  It  will  de- 
pend al»i>  on  another  circumstance,  whose  effect, 
that  single  cause  remaining  the  same,  will  vary 
according  to  such  of  the  preceding  circumstances 
as  may  be  connected  with  it. 

Admitting,  for  instance,  a  stream  to  be  deep  and 
wide  in  descending  an  inclined  plane,  its  velocity 
will  be  accelerated.  But  if  the  inclination  be  not 
great,  and  the  channel  shoal  and  narrow,  the  fric- 
tion may  so  counteract  the  descent  as  to  retard 
the  velocity.  From  these  considerations  it  is  evi- 
dent, that  the  sum  of  descent  must  depend  prima- 
rily  on  the  quantity  of  water  required.  This  in  na- 
vigation ascending  and  descending  by  locks,  must 
be  greater  than  when  carried  along  a  plane.  It  must 
also  be  greater  in  a  loose  than  in  a  stiff  soil.  More- 
over,  the  quantum  of  descent  required,  must,  after 
the  needful  supply  of  water  is  ascertained,  de- 
pend on  the  length,  the  width,  the  depth,  and 
finally  on  the  course  of  the  canal,  whether  direct 
or  serpentine.  And  here  the  same  common  sense 
presents  another  important  consideration.  The 
amount  of  rapidity  which  may  with  safety  be 
hazarded,  will  depend  on  the  texture  of  the  sub- 
stance  through  which  th©  current  passes.  No  na- 


m 


t 


24 

vigable  velocity  can  injure  a  rock  of  granite,  but 
a  gentle  current  will  swe?p  off  the  substance  of 
bog  meadow.  In  like  manner,  banks  which  resist 
when  the  course  is  direct,  may  he  eaten  away, 
and  the  current  itself  be  retarded,  if  propelled 
alonff  a  tortuous  course.   The  commissioDers  can- 
not,  therefore,  too  often  repeat,  that  their  report 
must  be  accepted  as  suggestions  proceeding  from 
a  superhcial  view,  and  not  as  conclusions  founded 
on  sufficient  and  scientific  investigation.    After 
this  preliminary  caution,  they  assume  hypotheti- 
cally,  that  a  canal  were  run  in  such  manner  as 
that  the  average  descent  were  six  inches  in  every 
mile.    Whence,  taking  the  surface  of  Lake  Erie 
as  the  standard  level,  they  have  in  gross  the  fol- 
lowing results. 


ill 


ll 


m, 


From  Lake  Erie  to 


The  mouth  of  Tanewanto 
**  Genesee  river,  about 
t*  Seneca  Lake    -     -     - 
<'  Cayuga  Lake    -    -    - 
"  Rome  Summit    -    -     - 

*'  Little  falls  of  Mohawk 

"  Schoharie 

»'  Height  of  land  between  "> 
Schenectady  and  Albany  > 
"  Hudson  River 


s 

• 

Actual  descent. 

Total  descent. 
Descent. 

10 

5  5  feet  5 

68 

34  39    65 

46 

23  62   145 

6 

3  Q5        195 

66 

33  98    145 

3u 

-  •-  {-| 

38 

19  136   293| 

-24 

12  148  220 

14 

7  1^  525 

310 


25 


Casting  an  eye  on  the  Map  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  first  diificulty  in  the  above  course  will  be  to 
cross  the  Genesee,  at  an  elevation  of  twenty-six 
feet  above  its  surface.  But  unless  the  Canal  be 
lowered  down  to  that  river,  the  expense  of  an 
aqueduct  cannot  be  avoided,  because  from  the  up- 
per  falls,  which  are  too  high,  there  is  little  descent 
to  ^he  lower  falls ;  and  if,  from  any  cause,  it  be 
advisable  to  cross  it  by  an  aqueduct,  the  addition 
of  a  few  feet  in  the  height  will  not  much  increase 
the  expense.  Indeed,  considering  the  sv.'ell  of 
the  river  in  freshes,  an  elevation  short  of  twenty 
feet  would  scarcely  leave  sufficient  space  under 
the  arch.  The  next  difficulty  will  be,  in  crossing 
the  mouth  of  Seneca  Lake  by  an  aqueduct  eighty 
three  feet  high ;  but  this  also,  if  a  convenient  place 
can  be  found,  will  not  be  important,  because  a 
moderate  aperture  will  suffice  to  void  the  equable 
stream  from  that  Lake. 

The  third  difficulty  is  at  the  mouth  of  Cayuga, 
where  the  elevation  is  one  hundred  and  thirty 
feet.  Even  this  might  be  encountered  without  any 
unusual  hardihood,  if  the  hills  approached  each 
other,  but  the  valley  to  be  crossed  is  not  much,  if 
any  thing,  short  of  a  mile ;  and  to  erect  a  mound 
of  that  length,  and  of  the  sufficient  height  and 
breadth,  is  an  herculean  labour.  Whether  it  will 
be  performed,  must  depend  on  the  arm  that  un- 
dertakes this  task,  respecting  which  a  few  words 
may  find  their  proper  place  hereafter.  Supposing, 
fcowever:-  that  difficulty  to  be  surmounted,  it  is 

w 


1 


I 


M 


3& 

believed  that  none  will  remain,  \Yhich  caDiiot  be 
in  a  con  ideruble  degiee  avoidLd,  by  bending  oc- 
easionaiiy  to  the  southward,  and  retutning  round 
the  northern  points  of  the  hills,  till  the  canal  is 
brought  opposite  to  Rome.    Its  elevation  there 
above  the  Mohawk,  will  be  forty  seven  feet,  or 
less,  by  one  loot  for  every  two  milts  that  it  may 
be  lengthened.     The  general  face  of  the  country 
here,  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  that  convenient 
ground  can  be  discovered  south  of  Rome,  at  an 
elevation  of  forty  feet  above  the  Mohawk.    How 
far  it  may  be  {)racticable  between  thaf  place  and 
the  hills  east  of  the  Schoharie,  must  be  decided  by 
actual  survey.    The  elevation,  if  not  in  other  re- 
spects injurious,  w  ill  be  ust  ful  in  passes  that  might 
otherwise  necessitate  a  descent  to  the  Mohawk. 
Thus  at  the  Little  Falls  of  that  river,  the  canal, 
at  an  elevation  of  eighty  feet  above  its  upper  sur- 
face, may,  it  is  beheved,  be  brought  through  or 
round  the  hill,  at  no  enormous  expense.     The 
still  greater  elevation  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  a^  the  Schoharie,  will  permit  of  a  considera- 
ble bend  to  lind  some  narrow  gorge,  and  finally, 
an  elevation  of  seventy  feet  above  the  height  of 
gioujid,  between  Schenectady  and  Albany,  will 
enable  the  engineer  to  choose  ior  the  course  of 
hi«  canal,  and  the  position  of  the  locks,  the  most 
suitable   M)il   and    convenient  situations.     In  a 
word,  if,  on  due  examinaiion,  a  thing  of  this  sort 
should  be  found  practicable,  instead  of  depriving 

Ai i -  ^x". .,..*„—    ^..^.ui*  yixrwi^  #-»4*  iwKioVi  iw  n<->t^ri. 


■I'        * 


mot  be 

;  round 
;unal  Is 
I  there 
feet,  or 
it  may 
iountrjr 
venieiit 
,  at  an 
How 
ice  and 
ided  by 
ther  re- 
t  might 
ohawk. 
?  canal, 
per  sur- 
ough  or 
^     The 
nd  fifty 
nsidera- 
fmally, 
eight  of 
ly,  will 
lurse  of 
he  most 
In  a 
this  sort 
pprivivig 


27 

ed  by  its  inhabitant?,  they  will  gain  a  great  addi- 
tion from  the  canal;  and  as  to  the  navigaiion 
singly  considered,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  it 
must  in  that  way  be  superior  to  a  waving  course, 
ascending  and  descending  by  locks;  lor  not  to 
mention  the  expense  of  constructing  and  keeping 
them  in  repair,  the  time  spent,  and  tolls  paid  in 
passing  them,   must  considerably  enhance  the 
freight  of  goods.     But  if  there  be  no  lockage,  and 
the  toll  be  no  more  than  is  needful  to  keep  the 
canal  in  repair,  it  will  amount  to  so  little,  as 
not  to  merit  notice  in  a  calculation  of  freight. 
Rejecting  it  therefore,  and  allowing  two  horses 
and  three  men  to  lake  a  boat  of  iii  ty  tons  burden 
twenty  miles  a  day,  which  is  certainly  within 
bounds,  and  putting  the  whole  expense  at  five 
dollars  on  the  lading  downward,  leaving  the  re- 
turn load  as  profit,  or,  which  is  equivalent  to  re- 
ducing the  distance  one  half,  we  have  fifty  tons 
transported  ten  miles  for  five  dollars,  being  one 
cent  per  ton,   per  mile ;  to  speak  then  in  round 
numbers,  it  will  cost  three  dollars  to  brin^  a  ton 
from  Lake  Erie  to  Hudson's  river,  being  little 
more  than  one  half  of  what  is  now  paid  for  freight 
on  Lake  Ontario,  between  Oswego  and  Lewis- 
town.    Without  entering  into  calculations,  which 
every  person  can  easily  make  for  himself,  to  enu- 
merate the  bulky  articles  which  will  derive  value 
from  such  facility  of  transportation,  it  may  be 
proper  in  this  place  to  recur  again  to  the  commer- 
cial  competition  with  our  British  neighbours. 


ii» 


ill 


H 


K:». 


\im 


28 

A  tolerable  good  navigation  up  and  down  the 
St.  Lawrence  already  exists,  but  the  cheapest  rate 
at  which  transportation  has  been  performed  with- 
in the  last  ten  years  between  Kingston  and  Mon- 
treal, according  to  the  best  information  the  Com- 
missioners have  been  able  to  obtain,  is  one  dollar 
per  hundred  ascending  and  half  as  much  descend- 
ing  the  river.    But  admitting  the  freight  could  be 
so  reduced  as  to  be  on  a  level  with  that  between 
Albany  and  New- York,  admitting  also  that  the 
transportation  across  Lake  Ontario  could  be  per- 
formed  as  cheaply  as  through  the  proposed  canal, 
and  even  admitting  that  the  risk  on  that  Lake, 
and  of  course  the  premium  of  insurance,  were  no- 
thing, still  it  would  follow,  that   transportation 
from  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario  to  Montreal,  would 
cost  as  much  as  from  the  mouth  of  Tanewanto  to 
New-York,  leaving  a  preference  to  the  latter    o 
the  cost  of  land  carriage  from  Chippeway  to 
Queenstown.    Moreover,  nature  has  given,  other 
things  being  equal,  a  decided  preference  to  the 
port  of  New- York.     There  are,  generally  speak- 
ing, six  weeks  of  navigation  from  Albany  in  the 
spring,  before  vessels  can  safely  leave  Montreal  to 
descend  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  and  as  many  more 
in  the  autumn  after  the  mouth  of  that  river  is 
closed.     The  navigation  from  New  York  is  sel- 
dom obstructed,  so  that  produce  deposited  there, 
can  be  sent  to  market  during  live  months  in  which 
at  Montreal  it  lies  a  dead  weight  on  the  hands  of 
the  owner.     This  circumstance  is  of  especial  im- 


29 


portance  in  regard  to  wheat  and  flour,  which  can 
be  sent  from  New- York,  so  as  to  be  sold  in  the 
south  of  Europe,  before  those  articles  can  be 
brought  from  the  Baltic,  or  gathered  m  the  coun- 
try. Whereas  if  shipped  from  Montreal  in  the 
month  of  May,  they  cannot  reach  Spain  or  Portu. 
gal  until  after  suppUes  are  received  from  Dantzic, 
and  but  a  short  time  before  the  harvest,  which  is 

early  in  July. 

Thus  it  is  evident,  that  the  canal  will,  if  pro- 
perly  effected,  turn  to  the  United  States  the  com- 
merce of  the  upper  Lakes.     Moreover,  a  side  cut 
of  five  or  six  miles,  would,  by  means  of  locks,  con- 
nect it  with  Lake  Ontario  in  the  harbour  of  the 
Genesee;  and    in   like   manner,    a  connection 
would  be  estabUshed  with  the  Seneca  and  Cayu- 
ga Lakes,  from  the  heads  of  which,  the  short  port- 
age by  good  roads  to  Newtown  and  to  Oswego, 
opens  acommunication  through  the  Susquehannah 
to  the  Chesapeake.   Nor  is  it  improbable,  that  by 
running  upon  the  west  side  of  the  Cayuga,  means 
may  be  found  to  establish  water  communication 
with  the  Susquehannah,  from  the  great  bend  of 
which,  a  good  and  short  road  may  be  made  to  the 

Delaware. 

Thus  a  variety  of  markets  may  be  opened,  to 
stimulate  and  reward  the  industry  of  those  who 
are  now,  or  may  be  hereafter,  settled  along  the 
Great  Lakes,  whose  shores,  exclusive  of  Lake  Su- 
perior,  are  upwards  of  two  thousand  miles,  sur- 
rounded at  a  convenient  distance  by  more  thaw 
fifty  million  acres  of  land. 


I! 


I 


I 


30 

To  the  question,  what  will  the  proposed  Canal 
co8t,  it  is  not  possible  to  an.wer  with  any  thing 
like  precision.    Indeed  preliminary  points  are  to 
be  adjusted,  and  of  these  the  first  is,  whether  it  is 
to  be  made  for  sloops  or  barges.    The  expense  of 
the  former  will,  it  is  believed,  be  at  least  double 
that  of  the  latter.    Another  question,  whether  it 
is  to  be  carried  along  an  inclined  plane,  or  by  a 
line  ascending  and  descending,  must  be  decided 
by  a  comparii^on  of  the  expense,  and  of  the  utility 
each  way.    In  general,  however,  it  may  be  satis- 
factory  to  the  Honourable  the  Senate  and  Assem- 
bly, to  receive  the  information,  which  the  Com- 
missioners feel  no  hesitation  in  giving,  that  as  far 
as  they  have  been  able  to  extend  their  inquiry, 
there  is  no  part  of  the  civilized  world,  in  which 
an  object  of  such  great  magnitude  can  be  com- 
passed  at  so  small  an  expense.    Generally  speak- 
uig.  the  course  is  through  a  tract  of  country,  the 
excavation  whereof  will  be  easy,  and  there  is 
at  convenient  distances  from  the  spots  where  it 
may  be  wanted,  a  sufficiency  of  freestone  as  well 
as  of  limestone,  with  a  superabundance  of  fuel. 
The  subsistence  of  men  also,  and  of  cattle,  will 
be  abundant  and  cheap.  The  wages  of  the  former 
are,  as  is  well  known  high,  but  measures  may 
certainly  be  devised,  to  obtain  the  labour  for  so 
great  a  public  work,  more  cheaply,  than  is  practi- 
cable in  private  operations,  on  a  small  scale.   But 
♦u«  r'««,«.iccionprs  hpQ^  leave  to  observe,  that  no 
gupposable  expense  can  bear  an  undue  proportion 


81 


to  the  value  of  the  work.  Thus  were  it,  by  giv- 
ing  loose  to  fancy,  extended  to  titty  millions  of 
dollars,  even  that  enormous  sum,  does  not  exceed 
half  the  value,  of  what,  in  all  human  probability, 
and  at  no  distant  period,  will  annually  be  carried 
along  the  Canal. 

The  more  proper  question  perhaps  is,  in  what 
time  can  it  be  effected  ?  for  if  an  annual  sum  be 
appropriated,  and  secured  on  a  solid  fund,  it  will 
be  etTected  in  time,  and  the  greater  the  sum  th« 
shorter  will  be  the  period.     The  Commissioners 
have  no  doubt,  but  that  good  bargains  for  the 
public,  may  be  made  with  those  through  whose 
land  the  Canal  shall  pass,  and  ihey  have  great 
pleasure  in  stating,  that  generous  offers  have  al- 
ready been  made  by  many  pro})rietors,  the  accept- 
ance of  which  must  necessarily  be  deferred  to  the 
moment,  when  the  business  assuming  a  more  sub- 
stantial form,  shall  be  committed  to  superintend- 
ants  duly  authorized  to  treat.     Enough  has  been 
sai<l  to  show  that  no  accurate  estimate  of  the  ex- 
pense can  as  yet  be  made.     To  give  some  gene- 
ral notion,  however,  it  may  be  assumed,  that  in 
common  cases  labourers  ought  to  dig  and  remove 
to  a  reasonable  distance,  eight  cubic  yards  per 
day.     1  he  excavation  may  therefore  be  set  at 
the  eighth  of  a  dollar  per  cubic  yard,  an  average 
breath  of  fifteen  yards,  and  depth  of  one  yard, 
which  by  means  of  the  mound  on  each  side  will 
be  sufficient  for  four  and  a  half  to  five  fei  t  of  wa- 
ter, e-ivina:  for  each  Yard  in  length  fiiteen  cubic 


n 


f 


11 


.1 
Mi 


'i'Wt 


\:f    I 


I 


1 


yards,  may  therefore  be  taken  at  two  dollars,  and 
the  mile  at  three  thousand  five  hundred  and  twen- 
ty dollars,  but  allowing  for  the  obstructions  of 
trees  and  roots,  not  less  than  four  thousand  dol- 
lars     This  gives  for  three  hundred  miles,  one 
million  two  hundreH  thousand  dollars.    The  ex- 
cavation needful,  to  bring  a  column  of  water  W- 
teen  yards  wide,  and  two  yards  deep,  with  sufh- 
cient  descent  from  the  Tanewanto,  through  the 
middle  steep,  will,  at  the  same  rate,  cost  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars.    Thus,  to  speak 
in  round  numbers,  the  Canal  alone,  might  cost  a 
million  and  a  half,  drawn  through  a  favourable 
«oil,  lying  conveniently,  without  the  opposition  of 
iocks  or  other  impediments.  Many  of  these  how- 
ever  must  be  expected,  and  will  perhaps  double 
that  sum.    Another  great  expense  is  that  of  locks 
and  aqueducts.    It  is  said  that  the  former  wil 
cost  at  the  rate  of  one  thousand  dollars  per  foot 
of  ascent  for  a  vessel  of  fifty  tons ;  this  is  believed 
to  be  a  low  estimate.  At  any  rate,  in  a  Canal  like 
the  present,  there  must  be  a  double  set,  one  for 
the  ascending  and  one  for  the  descending  naviga- 
tion.   Even  then  it  is  to  be  feared  that  there  will 
be  much  embarrassment  and  delay.    Thus  the 
lockage  being  taken  at  two  thousand  dollars  per 
foot,  for  three  hundred  and  forty  feet  of  descent 
and  ascent  between  lake  Erie  and  Rome,  will  cost 
six  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars,  should 
that  waving  course  be  deemed  adviseable.  From 
Eome  to  Hudson's  Kiver,  a  descent  of  three  hun- 


3S 


dred  and  eighty  feet,  will  call  for  an  addition  of 
seven  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars.  If 
then  the  locks  be  put  at  a  million  and  a  halt,  it  is 
the  lowest  rate  which  can  prudently  be  supposed. 
It  would,  indeed,  be  safer  to  set  them  at  two  mil- 
lions. There  will  still  remain  for  aqueducts,  em« 
bankments  and  mounds,  a  considerable  expendi- 
ture, which  cannot  at  present  be  ascertained.  To 
estimate  the  expense  of  aqueducts,  it  may  be  ad- 
visable to  put  the  cubic  yard  of  masonry  at  two 
dollars,  and  consider  the  aqueduct  as  a  solid  mass. 
It  is  true,  that  not  more,  perhaps,  than  one-third 
of  the  materials  required  for  a  solid  mass  will  be 
used,  but  the  workmanship  on  those  materials  will 
be  much  more  costly ;  many  of  the  stones  must 
be  hewn,  and  many  clamped  together  with  iron  ; 
moreover,  the  expense  when  such  buildings  are 
raised  to  a  great  height,  is  proportionately  greater 
than  when  nearer  the  earth.  An  aqueduct  over 
the  Genesee  may,  perhaps,  be  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  long ;  but  to  avoid  mistakes,  it  will  be 
more  adviseable  to  suppose  two  hundred.  The 
iieight  above  mentioned  is  twenty-six  feet ;  but  as 
"well  to  obviate  mistakes,  as  for  convenience  of 
calculation,  it  ma>  be  taken  at  ten  yards,  and  in 
order  to  preserve  the  full  breadth  of  the  canal,  the 
aqueduct  may  be  considered  as  twenty  yards 
wide.  Thus  we  have  a  result  of  forty  thousand 
cubic  yards  of  masonry,  which,  at  two  dollars, 
"Will  require  an  expenditure  of  eighty  thousand 
dollars.    A  remark  which  will  not  escajpe  the 

[5] 


I 

i 


M 


»l 


34 

„,o,t  cursory  observer,  is,  that  a  single  set  of  locks. 
,7La  d.scend  live  and  twenty  )< et,  uill 
,„  asc.  nd  and  <i. ''"'  ,„„,,„  estima- 

^n^t  iiftv  thousand  dollars,  ai  i"«-  ■" 

H  1  ihe  «y^ttm  of  level  canals,  the  de- 
"""  ;  ■"  th  s  use  U  i..ty  five  feet.  Excepting 
r'oen  s  e    no  considerable  aqueduct  will  be 

^Idm    b^ause  the  strean.s  from  the  lakes  be.ng 
„  ed  ul,  bcca  ^^^^  ^^^^^ 

tetpre  of  such  tnoundn-ust  depend  on^^ 
rnnvenience  of  obtaining  materials.  Where  huis 
„  uffi  lent  elevation  in  the  neighborhood,  g.ve 
1  adtntage  of  runmng  along  wooden  rad  ways, 
Twhere  he  transportat.on  may  be  by  boats  along 
n,  Jll  a  mound  will  cost  but  little,  com- 

^  »nS    auie   AU  estimates,  therefore,  which 

irr^ul  '  on  o.uct  local  knowledge,  must 
b    vague  and  uncertain.    Assuming,  however  « 
u         ,hP  urice  of  one  dollar  for  eight  cubic 
a  basis,  the  price  oi  "  ™ound  over 

„„ds  •  to  estimate  the  expense  of  a  mouna  ov 
ttf  clyuga  UUe,  one  hundred  and  thurty  feet 

I    h  and  sixty  feet  wide  on  the  top,  with  an  tn- 
high,  and  sixty  te  .^  ^^^  ^^^^^^^ 

Clination  of  five  ana  lorry      &  hundred  and 

„f  ,h»  «\de  we  have  at  the  base,  one  hunarea^i 
w  fe    Jving  a  mean  width  of  one  hundred 

ninety  teet,  giMiis*  fhpheiebt, 

<»,wi  twenty  five,  which,  multiphed  by  the  neig 
and  twenty  nvf,  thousand  two 

one  hundred  and  thnty,  is  sixteen 

.     .    _j  «♦>..  fppt,  or  in  round  numbers,  one 

luuu 


one 
at 


thou^iti 


id  eight 


p-  m;  I. 


thueigutiiof  a 


dollar  each,  will  cost  for  every 


cu- 


35 


bic  yard  of  the  mound  in  length,  two  hundred  and 
twenty  five  dollars.  Allowing,  therefore,  two 
thousand  yards  instead  of  a  mile,  so  as  to  com- 
pensate for  the  expense  of  an  arch  two  hundred 
feet  long,  with  a  span  of  fifty  feet  over  the  stream, 
and  for  other  contingencies,  the  whole  cost  might 
be  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  per- 
haps half  a  million. 

Under  the  impression  resulting  from  these  ob- 
servations, it  is  believed,  that  one  million  of  dol- 
lars would  provide  for  every  thing  of  this  sort, 
so  as  to  bring  the  canal  to  a  reservoir  near  Hud- 
son's river,  without  locks,  for  four  million  of  dol- 
lars. A  descent  there,  of  from  three  to  four  hun- 
dred feet  by  locks,  would  cost,  perhaps,  anotiier 
million ;  or  if  it  should  be  deemed  more  advisable 
to  transport  by  rail  ways,  the  water  used  for  ma- 
chinery, would  probably  yield  a  rent  sufficient  to 
keep  the  canal  in  repair. 

But  hitherto,  this  navigation  has  been  con- 
templated no  further  than  to  the  mouth  of  To- 
newanto,  in  Niagara  river;  from  thence  to 
Lake  Erie  is  ten  miles,  and  the  last  mile,  at 
the  Black  Rock  rapid,  is  said  to  have,  through 
part  of  a  fall,  which  is,  on  the  whole,  four  feet, 
a  rapidity  of  near  seven  miles  an  hour ;  so  that 
vessels  descending  below  it,  may  wait  a  whole  sea- 
son, for  wind  sufficiently  favourable  and  strong, 
to  get  up.  This  obstacle,  though  great,  does  not 
appear  insurmountable     Perhaps  two  wharves, 

«:.^:in»  *-n  tUr.oa  MrKi^h  enrrniiTiH  nijr  ci^ips•  made 

impervious  to  the  water,  and  sunk  paraile 


II 


PI 


each 


-], 


,|h* 


36 

other,  during  the  distance  of  one  mile,  with  two 
pair  of  gates  similar  to  those  of  dry  docks,  placed 
80  a.  that  the  upper  one  being  shut,  there  shall  be 
Btill  water  from  below,  and  that  the  lower  one 
shut,  will  make  still  water  above,  may  fully  an. 
6wer  the  end.     The  cost,  where  wood  and  stone 
are  so  abundant,  cannot  be  great ;  and  as  wood 
i,  not  liable  to  rot  under  water,  nor  exposed  in 
fresh  water  to  the  ravages  of  worms,  the  work 
may  be  sufficiently  durable.     On  the  whole,  it  is 
conceived,  that  the  expense  of  this  national  work 
may  be  five  millions  of  dollars  ;  a  sum  which  does 
not,  it  is  presumed,  exceed  five  per  cent,  of  the 
value  of  the  commodities,  which,  in  less  than  a 
century,  it  will  annually  transport,  should  it  be 
now  commen.;ed,  so  as  duly  to  encourage  popu- 
lation around  the  upper  lakes. 

The  Commissioners  hope  they  shall  be  excused, 
if,  in  this  place,  they  advert  to  a  question  more 
important,  perhaps,  than  any  other.    By  whom 
shall  the  needful  expense  be  supported  ?     1  hey 
take  the  hberty  of  entering  their  feeble  protest 
against  a  grant  to  private  persons  or  companieg. 
Too  great  a  national  interest  is  at  stake.    It  must 
not  become  the  subject  of  a  job,  or  a  fund  for  ape- 
culution.    Among  many  other  objections,  there 
is  one  insuperable :  that  it  would  defeat  the  con- 
templated  cheapness  of  transportation.    It  should 
always,  on  occasions  of  this  sort,  be  recollected, 
that  the  reasons  adduced  for  grants  to  individuals 
in  Europe,  apply  inversely  here,  i'  ew  of  our  iei- 


87 


low  citizens  have  more  money  than  they  want ; 
and  of  the  many  who  want,  few  find  facility  in 
obtaining  it.  But  the  public  can  readily,  at  a  fair 
interest,  command  any  reasonable  sum.  More- 
over, such  large  expenditures  can  be  more  econo- 
mically made  under  public  authority,  than  by  the 
care  and  vigilance  of  any  company. 

It  remains,  therefore,  to  determine,  whether  the 
canal  should  be  at  the  cost  of  this  state,  or  of  the 
union.  If  the  state  were  not  bound  by  the  fede- 
ral band,  with  her  sister  states,  she  might  fairly 
ask  compensation  from  those  who  own  the  soil 
along  the  great  lakes,  for  the  permission  to  cut 
this  canal  at  their  expense.  Or  her  statesmen 
might  deem  it  still  more  advisable,  to  make  the 
canal  at  her  own  expense,  and  take  for  the  uje  of 
it  a  transit  duty,  raising  or  lowering  the  impost 
as  circumstances  might  direct,  for  her  own  advan- 
tage. This  might  be  the  better  course,  if  the  state 
stood  alone.  But  fortunately  for  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  all,  this  is  not  the  case.  We  are  con- 
nected  by  a  bond,  which,  if  the  prayers  of  good 
mtn  are  favourably  heard,  will  be  indissoluble. 
It  becomes  proper,  therefore,  to  resort  for  the  so- 
lution of  the  present  question  to  principles  of  dis- 
tributive justice.  Ihat  which  presents  itself  is 
the  trite  adage,  that  those  who  participate  in  the 
benefit  should  contribute  to  the  expense. 

The  Commissioners  presume  not  to  go  one  step 
further.    The  offers  of  individuals  already  allud- 

txA   tn      oV>a\Ar     thair    oi'^nvxrtjQn     of  that    CQUitV    bV 


'\'  ' 


9» 

vvbich  the  state  is  called  on  for  her  share.  The 
wisdom  as  well  as  justice  of  the  national  Legisla- 
ture, will,  no  doubt,  lead  to  the  exercise  on  their 
part,  of  prudent  munificence ;  but  the  proportion, 
the  conditions,  the  compact,  in  short,  must  be  the 
result  of  treaty.  Whether  the  honorable  Senate 
and  Assembly  will  take  steps  towards  a  negocia- 
tion,  and  what  these  steps  may  be,  it  is  in  their 
wisdom  to  determine. 

AH  which  is  humbly  submitted, 


GOVERNEUR  MORRIS, 
STEPHEN  VAN  RENSSELAER, 
WILLIAM  NORTH, 

DE  wrrr  clinton, 

THOMAS  EDDY, 
PETER  B.  PORTER, 
SIMEON  DEWITT. 


New-York,  Februart,  1811. 


»A 


?P 


Le 
a- 
ir 

n, 
le 

te 

ia' 
iit 


R, 


Il    .^ 


111 


H 


■* 


»i 


P  f 


THE  passage  of  the  President's  Message,  vvhicli 
relates  to  the  forcible  occupation  of  West  Florida,  im- 
periously claims  the  attention  of  every  American  who 
has  the  honour  and  the  welfare  of  his  country  at  heart. 
The  object  of  the  writer  of  the  following  pages  is  to 
discuss  the  title  to  that  territory,  and  to  bare  to  open 
view  the  awful  consequences  likely  to  result  from  the 
measure  recommended  by  the  administration  to  our  le- 
gislature. 

Ancient  Louisiana  was  dismembered  by  the  7th  ar- 
ticle of  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Paris 
in  1763,  by  which  its  limits  were  determined  to  be  a 
line  drawn  in  the  middle  of  the  Mississippi,  from  its 
source  to  the  river  Manshack  or  Ibbtrville,  and  from 
thence  by  another  line  passing  through  the  ciumnel  of 
said  river,  and  that  of  the  lakes  Maurep;is  and  Pont^ 
chartrain,  to  the  sea  or  gulph  of  Mexico ;  and  to  this 
effect  his  Most  Chrii^tian  Majesty  ceded  and  guaranteed 
all  his  rights  and  titles  to  the  river  and  port  ot  Mobile, 
with  all  he  possessed  on  the  left  bank  of  th?  Missis- 


If 


^1*1*4 


m 


■«* 


„ppi  to  his  Britannic  Majesty,  excepting  New-Orleans 
and  the  island  whereon  it  is  situated,  which  remained 
to  France,  on  condition  that  the  navigation  of  said  river, 
in  all  its  extent,  should  remain  free  to  the  subjects  of 
both  nations.     In  the  19dr  article  of  the  same  treaty. 
Great  Britain  returned  to  Spain  the  city  of  Ilavanna 
and  part  of  the  island  of  Cuba,  which  she  had  acquired 
by  conquest;    and,  by  the  20th  article,  Spam,  as  an 
equivalent,  ceded  Florida,  including  the  fortress  of  St. 
Augustine,  the  bay  of  Pensacola,  and  all  it  possessed 
on  the  continent  of  North  America,  east  and  south-east 
of  the  river  Mississippi,  transferring  all  her  rights  and 
sovereignty  thereto  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  who 
united  these  new-acquired  territories,  from  France  and 
Spain,  under  the  title  and  denomination  of  Last  and 
West  Florida,  subdividing  them  accordingly  into  two 
separate  provinces  and  governments. 

By  the  treatv  concluded  in  the  year  1764,  between 
Spain  and  France,  the  latter  power  voluntarily  ceded  to 
his  Catholic  Majesty  the  island  and  city  of  New-Oile- 
•uis  and  other  territories  thereunto  appertaining,  to  the 
westward  of  the  Mississippi,  and  contained  in  the  pro. 

vince  of  Louisiana. 

Endand  retained  possession  of  these  provinces  until 
the  w^r,  which  broke  out  in  1779,  between  her  and 
Spain  when  West  Florida  was  wrested  from  England 
by  conquest,  by  the  Spanish  army  under  General  Cal- 
ves in  1780;  and  the  possession  of  this  province  was 
confirmed,  and  East  Florida  ceded,  by  the  treaty  of 
peace  of  1783,  whereby  England  solemnly  guaranteed 

r 


•3 


to  Spain  the  absolute  sovereignty  and  integrity  of  botit 
provinces,  extending  as  iar  as  the  left  bank  of  the  river 
Mississippi;  and  tliey  have  ever  since  remained  under 
the  dominion  of  Spain,  without  the  least  interruption, 
to  the  present  moment. 

When  the  independence  of  our  country  was  pro- 
claimed, to  which  Spain  contributed  not  a  little,  with 
her  land  and  naval  forces,  as  well  as  her  riches,  our  go- 
vernment proposed  the  demarcation  of  limits  of  fron- 
tiers ;  and,  to  prevent  all  disputes  on  the  subject  of  the 
boundaries  which  separate  the  territories  of  the  two  na- 
tions, it  was  agreed,  by  the  2d  article  of  the  treaty  of 
friendship,  limits,  and  navigation,  concluded  in  1795, 
"  That  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States, 
which  divides  their  territory  from  the  Spanish  colonies 
of  East  and  West  Florida,  shall  be  designated  by  a  line 
beginning  on  the  river  Mississippi,  at  the  northernmost 
part  of  the  31st  degree  of  latitude  north  of  the  equator, 
^vhich  from  thence  shall  be  drawn  due  east  to  the  mid- 
dle of  the  river  Apalaehicola  or  Catahouche,  thence  along 
the  middle  thereof  to  its  junction  with  the  Flint ;  thence 
straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's   river,    and   from 
thence  down  the  middle  t^^reof  to  the  Atlantic  ocean." 
And  by  the  4th  article,   "  It  is  likewise  agreed  that  the 
western  boundaries  of  the  United  States,  which  sepa- 
rate them  from  the  Spanish  colony  of  Louisiana,  are  the 
middle  of  the  channel  or  bed  of  the  river  Mississippi, 
from  the  northern  boundary  of  the  said  states  to  the 
completion  of  the  thirty-first  degree  of  latitude  north  of 
the  equator;  and   his   Catholic   Majesty   has  likewise 


'till 


y\\ 


ii'l 


:»* 


4 

agreed  that  the  navigation  of  the  said  river,  in  its 
whole  breadth  from  its  source  to  the  ocean,  shall  be  free 
only  to  his  subjects  and  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States."  So  that  the  margin  of  land  extending  on  the 
Gulph  of  Mexico,  from  the  limits  above  designated, 
comprehendinu  or  includhigthe  islandof  New-Orki  . 
absolutely  belonged  to  Spain,  and  the  opposite  sides  * 
the  aforesaid  limits  to  the  United  States,  as  may  be 
clearly  seen  by  the  map  of  Mr.  EUicot,  the  astronomer, 
authorised  by  our  government  for  that  purpose. 

The  deductions  drawn  from  the  above-mentioned 
treaties  evidently  prove,  that  that  part  of  Louisiana  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  acquired  by  Spain  by  a  voluntary 
cession  of  France  in  the  year  1764,  is  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  island  and  city  of  New-Orleans,  because 
she  had  no  other  territory  to  dispose  of  on  that  side  to 
France.  Spain  having  thus  ceded,  by  the  treaty  of  1800, 
to  France,  the  province  of  Louisiana,  in  the  same  state 
she  had  received  it  in  1764,  and  France  having  ceded  it 
by  negociation  to  the  United  States  (although  unjustly, 
as,  b>  i  solemn  convention*,  separate  from  the  treaty  of 

*  The  Spanish  government,  having  remarked  that  no  mention 
had  been  made,  in  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso,  that  France  shou  d 
not  dispose  of  Louisiana,  without  her  consent,  or  without  givmg  to 
Spain  the  preference  in  that  case,  exacted  and  obtained,  by  a  sepa- 
rate  article,  from  the  French  government,  previous  to  the  dehvery 
of  Louisiana,  an  obligation  to  that  effect;  and  it  was  upon  that 
solemn  obligation  that  Charles  IV  grounded  his  protest  agams  the 
cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  which  protest,  as  I  have 
observed,  has  not  been  hitherto  published,  owing  to  the  preponder- 


retrocession,  France  had  bound  herself  not  to  eede  it), 
it  necessarily  follows,  that  both  the  retrocession  from 
Spain  to  France,  and  the  cession  from  France  to  the 
United  States,  were  absolutely  confined  to  the  island  and 
city  ofNcw-Orleans.    Therefore  it  follows,  that  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  United  States  to  that  portion  of  the  kft 
margin  of  the  river  Mississippi  from  the  31st  degree  of 
north  latitude  to  the  river  Ibberville,  where  Spain  pos- 
sesses the  settlements  of  Pollock  and  AUibamones,  on 
the  northern  margin  of  the  river  Ibberville  and  the  lakes 
Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain,  as  well  as  to  that  part  of  the 
coast  on  the  gulph  of  Mexico,  which  continues  easterly 
to  the  western  bank  of  the  river  Perdido,  in  which  is 
contained  Pearl  river,  the  bay  of  St.  Louis,  river  of 
Pascagola  and  Cedar  river,  and  the  bay  and  fortress  of 
Mobila,  are  chimerical,  because  they  were  entirely  sepa- 
rated from  Louisiana  by  the  cession  made  in  the  year 
1763,  and  reunited  to  Spain  by  right  of  conquest  in  1783. 
Our  administration  pretends,  that  Great  Britain,  in  tlie 
treaty  of  peace  of  1783,  ceded  to  Spain  the  territory  of 
West  Florida,  as  a  compensation  for  ^he  island  of  Cuba ; 
but  this  is  an  evident  mistake,  for  it  has  been  clearly  de- 
monstrated, that  the  cession  of  West  Florida,  and  its 
territory  on  the  margin  of  the  Mississippi,  was  not  ob- 

ance  of  the  French  government  in  Spain.  Besides  this,  one  of  the 
conditions  of  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso  was  the  erection  of  Etru- 
ria  into  a  kingdom,  and  the  guarantee  of  it  to  the  infonta  of  Spani, 
Maria  Louisa,  and  her  heirs  for  ever ;  but  as  France  has  not  complied 
with  this  sacred  engagement,  of  course  the  contract  on  the  part  of 
Spain  has  no  binding,  force,  or  efficacy. 


6 


n 


taincd  by  ncgocia.ion,  but  by  right  of  comiuest  from  the 
KngHsh.  ! 

The  administration  also  supposes  that,  in  the  treaty  of 
1783,  in  whieh  Great  Britain  ceded  to  Spain  the  Floridas 
and  the  tract  of  land  from  Rio  Perdido  to  Ibberville,  a 
division  ought  to  be  made,  giving  back  to  France  this 
last- mentioned  tract,  which  formerly  belonged  to  Louisi- 
ana. It  is  not  easy  to  ascertain  by  what  rule  this  should 
be  granted,  as  this  territory  certainly  was  not  then  a 
component  part  of  Louisiana,  having  already  changed 
masters  twice  under  the  name  of  West  Florida. 

They  add  that  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso  ought  to 
have  placed  France  and  Spain  in  statu  quo ;  but  as  the 
treaty  does  not  say  so,  from  whence  does  the  Pi  esident 
draw  his  conclusion  ?  Were  we  to  admit  such  argu- 
ments, might  not  Spain  have  claimed  a  right  to  the  states 
of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Ohio,  which,  in  other 
times,  formed  part  of  Louisiana*  ?  and  at  present 
would  they  not  claim,  as  masters  of  East  Floridaf,  the 
state  of  Georgia,  and  others  which  form  part  of  the  union, 
and  which,  in  other  days,  were  attached  to,  and  known 

*  See  the  History  of  Louisiana,  by  Mr.  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  Book 
2,  page  119,  chapter  1st,  respecting  «  the  geographical  description 
of  Louisiana;"  and  page  304,  chapter  2d,  for  an  account  of  the  se- 
veral Indian  neitions  in  Louisiana,  the  first  section  of  which  treats 
«  of  the  nations  inhabiting  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi." 

t  The  continent  of  North  America,  from  the  river  Panuco,  in 
INIexico,  following  the  sea  coast  to  the  confines  of  Canada  and  New- 
foundland, was  called  Florida.  See  the  History  of  Florida,  by  the 
Inca  Carcilaso  de  la  Vega,  in  4  vols.  l2mo. 


under  the  name  of  Floridas  ?  But  this  method  oi*  reason- 
ing is  too  ridiculous  to  deserve  further  consideration. 

The  celebrated  ast-oiiomer  and  geot^apher  KUicot, 
appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  of  die  government 
to  run  these  limits,  in  his  journal,  alluding  to  the  sale  of 
Louisiana,   and   under   date  of  the    10th  July,   1803, 
makes  use  of  the  following  expressions. 

*'  It  does  not  appear,  by  the  cession  of  Louisiana 
to  the  United  States,  that  we  obtain  the  whole  of  both 
sides  of  the  Mississippi ;  for,  by  consulting  No.  5  of  the 
maps,  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  island  of  Orleans,  which 
lies  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  only  extends 
north  to  Manshaek;  from  thence  northerly  along  the  east 
side  of  the  river  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  is  still  held  by  his  Catholic  Majesty,  as  a  part  of 
TFest  Florida.''^  And  further  he  f.dds  :  "  The  important 
and  safe  harbours  in  both  the  Floridas  still  remain  in  the 
possession  of  his  Catholic  Majesty." 

These  expressions  confirm,  in  the  most  authentic  and 
incontrovertible  manner,  the  right  of  his  Catholic  Majesty 
to  all  the  territories  to  the  eastward  of  the  Mississippi, 
within  the  boundary  line  commencing  from  the  31st 
degree  of  north  latitude,  excepting  the  isle  of  New- 
Orleans. 

Not  the  least  doubt  can  be  entertained,  even  by  the 
most  biassed  minds,  of  the  veracity  and  authenticity  of 
the  assertions  of  a  learned  astronomer,  appointed  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States  for  the  demarcation  of 
limits.  The  question  in  controversy  is,  whether  the 
territory  east  of  the  Mississippi,  at  the  time  of  the  retro- 


'!  )J 


iH 


ti-T,it.! 


If. 

m 


cession  of  Louisiana  to  France,  was  ffest  Morula  or 
Louisiana.  AVho  can  decide  with  more  propriety  on 
this  point  than  an  astronomer  and  geograplier,  who  had 
the  confidence  of  the  United  States  in  the  demarcation 
of  the  hmits  of  the  very  province  now  under  conside- 

ration  ? 

It  would  not  be  doing  justice  to  his  talents  to  sup- 
pose he  did  not  consult  all  the  ancient  and  modern  maps 
of  said  territory,  and  other  authentic  documents  relative 
thereto,  and  to  doubt  an  assertion  on  his  part  of  the  in- 
controvertible rights  of  Spain  to  the  whole  of  the  pro- 
vince of  JFest  Florida. 

1  now  proceed  to  test  the  title  to  West  Florida  by  the 
understanding  of  the  parties  to  the  original  contract. 
If  Spain  denies  that  she  sold  it,  and  if  France  denies 
that  she  bought  it,  or  that  she  disposed  of  it  to  the 
United  States,  no  intelligent  person  will  justify  the  vio- 
lent  step  which  Mr.  Madison  has  taken.     The  United 
Stiites,  who  have  succeeded  to  the  rights  of  France  by 
the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  never  can  acquire  a  greater 
right  or  title  than  that  which  France  claimed  and  ob- 
tained from  Spain.     France  is  convinced,  that  by  tlie 
treaty  of  retrocession  of  Louisiana  she  has  not  acquired 
any  right  whatever  to  any  part  of  West  Florida.     Mr. 
Laussat,  the  French  prefect,  charged  by  his  government 
with  the  execution  of  the  treaty,  and  of  course  possess- 
incr  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  intentions  of  his  go- 
vernment, was  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  manner  m 
which  Louisiana  was  delivered  to  him,  and  he  never 
required  possession  of  any  part  of  West  Florida.     This 


9 

Js  so  notorious  u  fact,  that  it  leaves  not  the  least  doubt 
respecting  the  interpretation  France  gave  to  the  stipula« 
tion  of  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildeplionso.  Indeed  the  fact  as< 
serted  by  Mr.  Madison,  that  this  territory  has  always  re- 
mained in  the  possession  of  Spain,  operates  directly 
against  his  pretensions,  since  the  Spanish  commissioners 
actually  delivered  possession  of  Louisiana  to  Laussat, 
the  commissioner  on  tlie  part  of  the  French,  and  he  the 
same,  and  only  the  same,  to  the  United  States. 

But,  nevertheless,  should  these  facts  not  be  deemed 
sufficient,  let  me  be  permitted  to  insert  the  most  posi- 
tive proof  imaginable  of  the  assurance  given  by  France 
to  the  Spanish  government,  tiiat  she  never  had  the  in- 
tention of  acquiring  any  territory  east  of  the  river  Mis- 
sissippi by  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso  (saving  the  island 
and  city  of  New -Orleans),  and  that  she  never  had  or 
could  cede  any  such  territory  to  the  United  States  by 
the  treaty  of  Paris. 

The  minister  of  foreign  relations  at  Paris,  Mr.  de 
Talleyrand,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Gravina,  Spanish  ambas- 
sador at  the  court  of  France,  under  date  of  the  12th  Fruc- 
tidor,  12th  year,  writes  thus : 


*'  Mr.  Ambassador, 

'*  I  have  received  the  letters  and  the  memoir  you  have 
done  me  tiie  honour  to  address  to  me,  respecting  the 
points  in  discussion  betwixt  Spain  and  the  United  States, 
in  relation  to  the  limits  of  Louisiana,  and  the  jealousy  of 
your  court  at  the  projects  of  aggrandizement,  which  you 
ascribe  to  the  federal  government.     The  intention  of 

B 


10 

his  Imperial  Majesty  btiiiir  to  assure,  by  every  amicable 
means,  harmony  and  good  understanding  between  two 
powers  who  have  so  great  an  interest  to  remain  united, 
I  lost  no  time  in  calling  the  attention  of  his  Imperial 
Majesty's  minister    plenipotentiary   near    the    United 
States  to  the  different  questions  you  had  presented;  and 
I  have  recommended  to  him  to  take  every  step  proper 
to  divert  the  federal  government  from  every  project  of 
aggression  against  the  dominions  of  his  Catholic  Ma- 
iesty  that  do  not  form  part  of  the  cession  of  Louisiana. 
"  The  treaties  of  cession  of  that  colony  are  in  the 
hands  of  his  Imperial  Majesty's  minister  plenipotentiary; 
and  the  explanations  which  I  have  added  thereto,  leave 
to  that  minister  no  doubt  respecting  the  territorial  boun- 
daries  which  this  cession  comprehends. 

"  The  eastern  limits  of  Loiisiana  arc  described  by  the 
course  of  the  Mississippi,  and  aftenvards  by  the  r'wer 
Ibberville,  lake  Pontchartrain,  and  lake  Maurepas.     It 
is  this  line  of  demarcation  that  terminates  the  territory 
ceded  by  Spain  to  France  in  virtue  of  the  treaty  of  the 
SOth  Ventose,  9th  year.      France  would  not  have  de- 
manded of  Spain  any  thing  beyond  those  limits;    and  as 
France  is  only  substituted  to  the  rights  she  had  acquired 
from  Spain,  the  United  States  cannot  exact  from  Spain 
a  more  extensive  cession  of  territonj,  unless  under  some 
negociation  and  stipulation  betwixt  ihe  two  poxvers,  by 
some  ulterior  convention. 

*«  I  hope,  sir,  that  die  explanations  which  I  have  en- 
tcred  into,  may  tend  to  do  away  the  differences  between 
your  government  and  the  United  States,  on  the  pomts 


11 

in  discusbion ;  points  which,  being  placed  in  their  true 
light,  and  with  intentions  mutually  amicable,  may  be 
considerably  simplified,  and  upon  which  his  Imperial 
Majesty  will  see  with  great  satisiaction  that  the  two  go- 
vernments come  to  a  good  understanding. 

*'  Accept,  Mr.  Ambassador,  the  assurances  of  my 
high  consideration. 

(Signed)        **  Ch.  Mau.  Talleyrand. 
*'  Uis  Excellency  Admiral  Gravina,  his  Catholic  Ma- 
jesty^s  Ambassador. ^^ 

The  expressions  of  this  letter  arc  so  very  clear,  posi- 
tive, and  terniinating,  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  most 
incredulous  or  prejudiced  mind  not  to  be  convinced, 
that  if  Spain  never  intended  to  cede,  or  France  expected 
to  acquire  JVest  Florida  by  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildcphonso, 
it  is  evident  that  the  United  States,  who  have  succeeded 
to  the  rights  of  France,  cannot  have  acquired  rights 
which  that  country  positively  assei  ts  do  not  belong  to 
her,  which  she  has  not  acquired^  and  never  had  the 
least  idea  of  acquiring. 

In  a  letter  of  the  8th  Thermidor,  of  the  12th  year,  the 
above-mentioned  minister  of  foreign  relations,  Mr.  Tal- 
leyrand, confirms,  in  the  following  note,  the  sentiments 
of  his  Imperial  Majesty  to  the  Spanish  ambassador 
then  in  Paris,  and  assures  him  that  he  has  communi- 
catcd  them  also  to  the  minister  of  the  United  States. 


12 


•»  Bourbofi  J:Archambault,  Sth  Thermklor,  12th  year 
(21th  July,  1804.) 

««  Mr.  Ambassador,  I  laid  before  bis  Imperial  Majesty , 
as  it  was  my  duty,  the  note  you  did  me  the  honour  of 
addressing  to  me,  under  date  of  the  24th  July,  relative 
to  a  discussion   which  has  arisen  between  the    court 
of  Spain  and  the  government  of  the  United  States.     I 
shall  also,  without  delay,  submit  to  his  consideration 
and  inspection  the  explanations  which  your  excellency 
says  you  mean  to  give  me  verbally  and  in  writing  on 
that  occurrence,  which  appears  to  you  to  threaten  the 
friendly  intercourse  existing  between  the  United  States 
and  your  court.     Although  the  assurance  of  your  ex- 
cellency, that  I  sluill  be  furnished  with  ^  fuller  disclo- 
sure and  explanation,  ought  to  induce  me  to  suspend  my 
opinion,  yet  I  think  I  may  venture  in  anticipation  to  say, 
that  his  Imperial  Majesty  cannot   but  feel  extremely 
concerned  at  the  uncertain  and  disagreeable  position  in 
which    this    incipient    misunderstanding    places     two 
states,  who  are  both  the  friends  of  France,  and  that  he 
will  do  all  in  his  power  to  prevent  in  time  a  disastrous 

issue. 

"  For  several  months  past  I  have  been  kept  informed 
by  our  charge  d'affaires  near  the  federal  government,  of 
the  pretensions  of  that  government  to  a  part  of  the  terri- 
tory of  Florida,  which,  for  fiscal  reasons,  and  with  a 
view  to  establish  their  system  of  customs,  has  become 
goreat  object  of  ambition  for  the  Americans;  and  it 


mi 


13 

has  appeared  to  me,  from  these  accoutits,  that  the  fede- 
ral government  meant  to  employ  every  means  in  its 
power  to  obtain  the  cession  of  this  portion  of  territory 
with  Louisiana ;  but  the  high  sense  which  should  be  en- 
tertained of  that  justice  and  moderation  which  charac- 
terize the  President  of  the  United  States  personally,  has 
not  permitted  me,  and  does  not  now  permit  me,  to 
think,  that  he  has  put  threats,  provocation,  and  a  war 
without  pretext,  in  the  foremost  rank  of  the  means 
which  are  to  be  employed  for  the  acquirement  of  a  por- 
tion of  foreign  territory,  vvliich  it  may  be  convenient 
for  the  United  States  to  possess. 

"  With  regard  to  the  second  object  of  discussion, 
which  your  excellency  does  me  the  honour  to  commu- 
nicate to  me  in  your  note,  I  have  to  sjy,  that  I  had  no 
previous  knowledge  whatever  of  it ;  and,  in  fact,  had  I 
known  that  his  Catholic  Majesty's  ministers  had  carried 
their  condescension  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  so  far  as  to  stipulate  to  indemnify  the  latter  for 
certain  violations  pretended  to  have  been  made  by 
France,  I  should  undoubtedly  have  received  an  imme- 
diate order,  in  a  case  where  so  little  deference  appeared 
to  be  paid  to  my  government,  to  express  iier  displea- 
sure at  the  conduct  of  Spain  on  that  occasion  ;  nor 
should  the  United  States  have  escaped  her  animadver- 
sion. There  is  every  reason  to  believe,  that  it  was  by 
thus  yielding  to  an  unreasonable  demand,  that  the  court 
of  Spain  emboldened  and  determined  the  American 
government  to  become  urgent,  and  even  to  resort  to 
threats  in  the  present  instance.     Be  that  as  it  may,  you 


14 

inay  infer,  from  the  former  explanations  which  have 
been  given  to  your  court  on  this  subject,  and  those 
which  1  have  been  authorized  to  cause  to  be  made  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  through  his  Impe- 
rial Majesty's  charg-e  d'affaires,  what  opinion  his  Ma- 
jesty has  formed  on  this  question,  which,  having  alrea- 
dy been  the  object  of  a  long  negociation,  and  of  a  formal 
convention  betwixt  France  and  the  United  States,  can 
no  longer  be  a  subject  of  a  new  discussion. 

"  Such,  Mr.  Ambassador,  are  the  observations  which 
I  have  deemed  it  proper  to  make   in  answer  to  the 
preliminary  note  of  your  excellency.     I  have  to  add 
thereto,  tluit  the  causes  which  appeared  to  me  to  have 
alarmed  your  government,  wliose  uneasiness  you  are 
desired  to  make  known,  are  somewhat  exaggerated, 
perhaps  from  the   impression  they  may  have  made  at 
Madrid,  or  perhaps  from  too  wide  and  enlarged  an  inter- 
pretation, by  the  minister  of  the  United  States,  of  the 
instructions   he   had   received   from    his   government. 
There  is  no  reason  to  think,  that  a  government,  which, 
like  that  of  the  United  States,  is  anxious  to  establish  a 
character  for  wisdom  and  moderation,  should  determine 
at  once  upon  an  unjust  war  of  ambition ;  but  as  the 
United  States  set  a  great  value  on  the  acquirement  of  a 
part  of  Florida  ^vhich  suits  their  purposes,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  but  that  tliey  will  use  every  effort  to  acquire 
it.     This  discussion  is  therefore  reduced  to  a  single 
point.       Perhaps   the   federal    government   may  have 
thought,  that  a  diplomatic  quarrel  would  be  of  advan- 
tage  \n  producing  a  negociation  of  exchange.     Under 


15 

these  circumstances,  the  wisdom  of  his  Catholic  Ma- 
jesty will  certainly  suggest  to  him  what  should  be  done 
to  determine  a  dispute,  which  I  am  satisfied  will  never 
be  at  rest,  until  the  respective  positions  of  Louisiana 
and  the  Floridas  shall  have  undergone  an  alteration. 
But  upon  this  point  it  is  for  his  Catholic  Majesty  to  de- 
cide according  to  his  own  judgment.       The  United 
States  have  no  right  of  claim  against  him.     They  were 
positively   informed,   that  Louisiana  was  delivered  to 
them  such  as  it  had  been  acquired  by  France^  and  not 
more  extensive,  which  declaration  shall  be  renewed  as 
often  and  as  positively  as  his  Catholic  Majesty  shall 
request. 

"  1  beg  your  excellency  to  accept  the  assurance  of 
my  highest  consideration. 

(Signed)         "  Ch.  Mau.  Talleyrand. 
*'  His  Excellency  Admiral  Gravina,  his  Catholic 
Mqjesty^s  Ambassador. ' ' 


Thus  then  it  is  in  full  proof,  that  Spain  denied  she 
had  ceded,  and  that  France  denied  she  had  bought 
JVest  Florida,  or  disposed  of  it  to  the  United  States. 
With  such  a  cause,  however,  we  attempt  to  impose  up- 
on the  public  understanding,  and  to  justify  the  violent 
step  which  Mr.  Madison  has  taken ! 

Having  drmonstraud  the  illegality  of  our  claim  to 
that  part  of  the  territory  of  West  Florida,  which  lies 
between  the  Mississippi  and  Rio  Perdido,  I  will  now 
suppose,  for  argument's  sake,  the  title  to  be  doubtful ; 
and,  in  that  supposition,  I  will  ask  if  the  attack  upon 


16 


the  possession  oi'  Spain  be  not  equally  condemned  by 
the  law  of  nations  ?  Does  not  that  law  prescribe  a  re- 
sort to  friendly  negociation  before  the  appeal  to  arms  ? 
In  our  daily  intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes,  we  ob- 
serve this  golden  rule ;  and  why  seize  and  invest,  in 
the  first  instance,  the  territory  of  a  generous  nation, 
while  she  is  gloriously  struggling  for  her  religion,  her 
laws,  and  her  independence  against  a  foreign  yoke? 
What  crime  has  Spain  committed,  or  what  motive  has 
she  given  us  for  the  last  three  years  for  such  a  conduct 
on  our  part  ?  S!ie  officially  announced  to  us  the  abdi- 
cation of  Charles  IV,  by  a  letter  signed  with  his  own 
hand ;  the  accession  of  his  eldest  son  Ferdinand  VII, 
who  had  been  sworn  and  acknowledged  from  his  infan- 
cy as  the  lawful  heir  to  the  crown,  by  the  deputies  of 
the  Cortes,  in  case  eidier  of  the  death  or  abdication  of 
his  father.  Spain  has  sent  us  a  minister,  in  whom  she 
placed  her  confidence,  with  the  most  ample  powers,  not 
only  to  settle  the  limits  of  Louisiana,  but  also  to  ex- 
change, cede,  sell,  or  purchase  such  part,  or  parts,  of 
territories  which  may  answer  the  convenience  of  either 
of  the  two  powers  ;  to  adjust  all  the  claims  pending  for 
losses  sustained  by  our  merchants,  which  amount  to 
many  millions,  and  to  offer  us,  in  the  whole  extent  of 
his  dominions  in  both  hemispheres,  a  source  of  com- 
merce, more  valuable  and  sure  for  us  liian  the  mines  of 
Mexico  or  Peru.  It  is  a  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  her 
desires  and  of  the  consideration  and  respect  she  enter- 
tained towards  our  government.  The  Spanish  embas- 
sy to  the  United  States  was  declared  next  in  rank  to 


17 


that  of  Great  Britain,  and  first  in  precedence  to  that  of 
every  other  nation;  she  delivered  to  us  14  vessels  rich- 
ly loaded,  which  had  been  confiscated  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  IV,  by  order  of  Bonaparte ;  she  diminished 
the  quarantine  on  our  vessels,  to  flicilitate  provisionally 
our  commerce,  until  she  established  a  still  more  fa- 
vourable and  general  regulation,  for  which  purpose  she 
has  actually  ordered  her  minister  in  the  United  States 
to  collect  and  send  forward  every  ordinance  or  law  on 
the  subject  existing  in  the  union. 

But  we  are  told  that  the  territory  was  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Conventionalists.  Flimsy  apology  indeed  ! 
It  shall  be  the  task  of  the  writer,  at  a  future  day,  to 
consider  the  machinery  by  which  the  agitation  in  West 
Florida  has  been  produced,  and  to  examine  who  it  was 
that  sowed  the  seeds  of  that  disturbance.  Sufficient  for 
my  present  purpose  it  is  to  observe,  that  it  was  for 
Spain  to  punish  her  own  rebels;  she,  who  has  been  the 
first  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  supposed  conqueror  of 
the  world,  shall  we  be  told  by  Madison  that  she  is  not 
in  a  situation  to  defuid  herself  against  a  handful  of  mi- 
serable adventurers,  who  have  emigrated  from  the  Uni- 
ted  States  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the  Iwnest  inha- 
bitants of  West  Florida? 

Let  us  remember  that  Bonaparte,  from  the  beginning 
of  his  political  career,  has  sought  to  deceive  every  na- 
tion, and  that  it  is  not  in  his  nature  to  pursue  a  different 
conduct  towards  us.  We  have  an  instance  in  the  con- 
fiscation of  our  vessels,  in  every  country  under  his  influ- 
ence ;  we  have  it  in  his  omii  words,  that  he  does  not 

c 


18 

wish  a  sini^le  republic  to  exist,  as  well  as  ia  his  proposi- 
lion  to  England  ibr  the  dismemberment  of  this  country. 
The  forcible  occupation  of  a  part  of  the  territory  of 
West  Florida  is  also  a  measure  of  this  treacherous  friend, 
replete  with  incalculable  dangers  to  the  United  States. 
The  kingdom  of  Mexico  is  equal  in  population  to 
the  United  States ;  it  exceeds  it  in  resources  of  every 
kind  ;  and  a  war  with  her  may  be  attended  with  serious 

consequences. 

It  remains  for  me  to  expose  to  view  the  awful  conse- 
quences likely  to  result  from  this  rash,  unwarranted, 
and  iU-fated  measure.     It  is  notorious  with  what  caution 
and  solicitude,  and  at  x\  hat  immense  sacrifices  we  have 
been  trying,  ::'.ice  the  earliest  days  of  Mr.  Jefferson's 
administradon  to  llie  present  hour,  to  avoid  a  rupture 
with  France.     Hence  the  occupation  of  West  Florida, 
though  ever  a  fa^'ourite  object  with  our  administration, 
wassolonsv  abandoned:    ncgociation  after  ncgociation 
was  set  oti^foot;     but  the  uniform  answer  ^^^.^  received 
was,  that  France  ^^•ould  take  part  Avith  Spain  if  we  at- 
tempted to  invest  West  Florida.     Thus  years  elapsed, 
and  W^est  Floi  ida  renuiined  quietly  governed  by  the  laws 
of  Spain.     But  at  lenoih,   "  among  the  events  growing- 
out  of  the  stale  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,  a  new  prospect 
arose  uith  rcs;>ectto  this  country,  so  long  abandoned." 
And  Nvhat  Avas  that  change  ?    Bonaparte'^i  prospect  of 
the  conquest  of  Spain  became  daily  more  uncertam ;  at 
all  events  her  colonies  were  beyond  his  reach;  and  En- 
gland was  in  the  actual  enjoyment  of  extensive  advan- 
tages from  them.     It  is  therefore  a  fliir  inf^^rence,  that 


19 

■ 

West  Florida  has  not  been  seized  against  the  will  ot' 
Bonaparte.      But  I   go  a  step  farther.      If  the    true 
Spanish  government  oppose  us,  then  we  are  fairly  at  war 
with  his  enemy,  old  Spain.     Nor  will  the  mischief  stop 
here.  We  arc  also,  in  all  probability,  at  war  with  his  enemy 
Great  Britain;  for  who  can  suppose  that  Great  Britain  will 
be  an  idle  spectator  of  the  dismemberment  of  the  colo- 
nies of  her  ally,  more  especially  if,  as  it  is  believed,  she 
has  avowed  her  determination  to  preserve  the  rights  of 
old  Spain  over  her  colonies  undiminished,  during  the 
present  contest  between  Spain  and  France ?   Thus,  then, 
we  become  an  instrument  of  Bonaparte's  aggrandize- 
ment ;  ai.d  if  so,  am  I  not  warranted  in  another  more 
important  inference,  viz.  that  the  seizure  of  Florida  was 
not  only  with  the  consent  of  Bonaparte,  but  at  his  spe- 
cial instance  ?     Here  then  let  me  pause.     Shall  we,  for 
the  sake  of  his  gilded  pill,  his  poisoned  boon,  suffer 
ourselves  to  be  brought  into  a  collision  with  Englani  ? 
or  is  it  consistent  with  our  pacific  professions  to  afford 
Great  Britain  such  a  cause  for  declaring  war  against  us^ 
While  Bonaparte  was  the  ally  of  Spain,  we  did  not  dare 
to  assert  our  rights  to  West  Florida  in  arms ;  now  the 
/question  is  reversed,  Great  Britain  is  the  ally  of  Spain, 
and  we  fiy  to  arms  to  seize  and  invest  that  territory ! 
Why  so  opposite  a  conduct  on  the  part  of  our  admini- 
stration ?     Is  this  our  boasted  impartiality  ? 

It  is  the  sincere  wish  of  Ferns  that  our  administration 
do  retrace  its  steps,  and  return  to  a  friendly  negociation. 
Whatever  be  the  hie  of  the  peninsula,  Spanish  America 
never  will  belong  to  Napoleon  ;  for  he  himself  now  in- 


20 

vites  them  to  become  independent,  and  they,  in  all  situ- 
ations, and  under  all  circumstances,  will  consider  as 
valid  and  binding  any  agreement  that  may  be  made 
with  the  legitimate   government   in   regard   to   West 

Florida. 

VERUS. 


ERRATUM. 

Page  ir,  line  20,  insert  3It\  before  Madison, 


situ- 

ler  as 

■ 

made 
West 

JS. 

'■• 

